Heritage Wealth Management Inc. Buys Shares of 1,409 American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Heritage Wealth Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) in the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm bought 1,409 shares of the payment services company’s stock, valued at approximately $332,000.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Scarborough Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of American Express in the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of American Express in the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. Game Plan Financial Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of American Express by 62.5% in the 1st quarter. Game Plan Financial Advisors LLC now owns 130 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. Creekmur Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of American Express in the 4th quarter worth approximately $32,000. Finally, Transcendent Capital Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of American Express in the 4th quarter worth approximately $37,000. 84.33% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on AXP. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on shares of American Express from $225.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 9th. Compass Point initiated coverage on shares of American Express in a report on Tuesday, July 16th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $260.00 price target for the company. Citigroup initiated coverage on shares of American Express in a report on Monday, June 10th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $250.00 price target for the company. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on shares of American Express from $265.00 to $267.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, July 22nd. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on shares of American Express from $265.00 to $280.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, July 8th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $231.43.

American Express Stock Up 0.9 %

NYSE:AXP opened at $270.90 on Thursday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $252.74 and its 200-day moving average price is $239.76. The company has a market capitalization of $194.86 billion, a PE ratio of 22.31, a P/E/G ratio of 1.48 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74, a current ratio of 1.66 and a quick ratio of 1.66. American Express has a 1-year low of $140.91 and a 1-year high of $272.68.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last released its earnings results on Friday, July 19th. The payment services company reported $3.49 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.26 by $0.23. The firm had revenue of $16.33 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.60 billion. American Express had a net margin of 15.53% and a return on equity of 32.94%. The company’s revenue was up 9.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.89 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that American Express will post 13.13 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Express Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 8th. Investors of record on Friday, October 4th will be paid a $0.70 dividend. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.03%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 4th. American Express’s payout ratio is 23.06%.

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.