Hilltop Holdings Inc. Boosts Stock Holdings in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Hilltop Holdings Inc. increased its position in American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 328.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 18,160 shares of the payment services company’s stock after acquiring an additional 13,925 shares during the period. Hilltop Holdings Inc.’s holdings in American Express were worth $3,402,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of American Express by 1.0% in the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 454,303 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $67,777,000 after acquiring an additional 4,468 shares during the period. Donoghue Forlines LLC bought a new stake in American Express in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $706,000. PFG Investments LLC lifted its holdings in shares of American Express by 24.0% during the 3rd quarter. PFG Investments LLC now owns 2,220 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $331,000 after buying an additional 429 shares during the period. Childress Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of American Express during the 3rd quarter valued at $384,000. Finally, Cassaday & Co Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of American Express by 18.0% in the 3rd quarter. Cassaday & Co Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,971 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $294,000 after buying an additional 300 shares during the last quarter. 84.33% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have weighed in on AXP shares. Evercore ISI increased their target price on American Express from $243.00 to $255.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 24th. Oppenheimer reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of American Express in a report on Friday, April 5th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of American Express from $250.00 to $265.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 24th. Robert W. Baird increased their price target on shares of American Express from $190.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 1st. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of American Express from $188.00 to $206.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, January 29th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $215.00.

American Express Price Performance

Shares of American Express stock traded up $2.72 on Friday, hitting $238.18. 1,624,528 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,698,561. American Express has a 52 week low of $140.91 and a 52 week high of $244.41. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $230.50 and a 200 day simple moving average of $204.64. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $171.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.35 and a beta of 1.20.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last posted its earnings results on Friday, April 19th. The payment services company reported $3.33 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.97 by $0.36. The company had revenue of $15.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $15.79 billion. American Express had a net margin of 14.50% and a return on equity of 32.46%. American Express’s quarterly revenue was up 10.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.40 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that American Express will post 13.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Express Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 9th. Investors of record on Friday, July 5th will be given a $0.70 dividend. This is an increase from American Express’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.10. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.18%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, July 5th. American Express’s payout ratio is currently 23.06%.

Insider Activity at American Express

In other American Express news, CEO Stephen J. Squeri sold 38,873 shares of American Express stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 23rd. The stock was 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $18,209,855.30. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, insider Jennifer Skyler sold 14,802 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $241.73, for a total value of $3,578,087.46. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 16,371 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,957,361.83. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Stephen J. Squeri sold 38,873 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 23rd. The stock was 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 directly owns 76,310 shares in the company, valued at $18,209,855.30. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 177,717 shares of company stock valued at $41,680,999. Insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

American Express Company 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.