Hemington Wealth Management Sells 44 Shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Hemington Wealth Management reduced its stake in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 2.8% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,518 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 44 shares during the quarter. Hemington Wealth Management’s holdings in American Express were worth $346,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Game Plan Financial Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of American Express by 62.5% during the first quarter. Game Plan Financial Advisors LLC now owns 130 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. Scarborough Advisors LLC bought a new position in American Express in the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. BKM Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in American Express in the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,000. Tennessee Valley Asset Management Partners bought a new position in American Express in the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,000. Finally, Sachetta LLC bought a new position in American Express in the fourth quarter worth approximately $29,000. 84.33% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other American Express news, insider Anna Marrs sold 3,592 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $230.93, for a total transaction of $829,500.56. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 19,932 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,602,896.76. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other American Express news, insider Anna Marrs sold 3,592 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $230.93, for a total transaction of $829,500.56. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 19,932 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,602,896.76. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Stephen J. Squeri sold 38,873 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $238.63, for a total value of $9,276,263.99. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 76,310 shares in the company, valued at $18,209,855.30. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 177,717 shares of company stock valued at $41,680,999. Company insiders own 0.11% of the company’s stock.

American Express Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE AXP traded down $0.28 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $238.65. The stock had a trading volume of 1,868,695 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,002,492. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.70, a quick ratio of 1.62 and a current ratio of 1.62. The company has a 50 day moving average of $234.68 and a two-hundred day moving average of $219.14. American Express has a twelve month low of $140.91 and a twelve month high of $244.41. The firm has a market cap of $171.66 billion, a PE ratio of 19.68, a PEG ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 1.21.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last released its earnings results on Friday, April 19th. The payment services company reported $3.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.97 by $0.36. American Express had a return on equity of 32.46% and a net margin of 14.50%. The firm had revenue of $15.80 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.79 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.40 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 10.6% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that American Express will post 12.98 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Express Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 9th. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 5th will be given a dividend of $0.70 per share. This is an increase from American Express’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.10. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.17%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, July 5th. American Express’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 23.06%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Oppenheimer reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of American Express in a research note on Friday, April 5th. HSBC increased their price objective on American Express from $232.00 to $239.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on American Express from $225.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on American Express from $222.00 to $226.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, April 22nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on American Express from $275.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $225.50.

American Express Profile

American Express Company, together with its subsidiaries, operates as integrated payments company in the United States, Europe, the Middle East and Africa, the Asia Pacific, Australia, New Zealand, Latin America, Canada, the Caribbean, and Internationally. It operates through four segments: U.S. Consumer Services, Commercial Services, International Card Services, and Global Merchant and Network Services.