HTLF Bank Invests $1.15 Million in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

HTLF Bank bought a new position in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 6,155 shares of the payment services company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,153,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of AXP. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of American Express by 118,198.3% during the fourth quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 13,732,068 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $2,028,913,000 after acquiring an additional 13,720,460 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of American Express during the fourth quarter worth about $911,554,000. Boston Partners purchased a new stake in shares of American Express during the third quarter worth about $210,540,000. Alliancebernstein L.P. increased its position in shares of American Express by 162.6% during the fourth quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 1,961,999 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $289,885,000 after acquiring an additional 1,214,731 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CI Private Wealth LLC bought a new stake in American Express in the fourth quarter valued at about $124,325,000. 84.33% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at American Express

In related news, insider Howard Grosfield sold 7,029 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $203.65, for a total transaction of $1,431,455.85. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 12,388 shares in the company, valued at $2,522,816.20. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, insider Laureen Seeger sold 84,420 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $212.98, for a total value of $17,979,771.60. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 57,512 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,248,905.76. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Howard Grosfield sold 7,029 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $203.65, for a total transaction of $1,431,455.85. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 12,388 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,522,816.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 172,047 shares of company stock valued at $36,528,388 over the last three months. 0.12% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AXP has been the subject of several research analyst reports. UBS Group boosted their price objective on American Express from $188.00 to $206.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, January 29th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft initiated coverage on American Express in a report on Wednesday, January 10th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $235.00 price objective for the company. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on American Express from $220.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. Robert W. Baird lowered American Express from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating and set a $190.00 target price for the company. in a report on Monday, January 8th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered American Express from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and upped their target price for the company from $212.00 to $222.00 in a report on Thursday, February 8th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, American Express currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $201.62.

American Express Price Performance

Shares of AXP traded up $9.56 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $227.06. 2,718,729 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,068,725. American Express has a one year low of $140.91 and a one year high of $231.69. The stock has a market capitalization of $164.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.87, a PEG ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 1.23. The company has a current ratio of 1.63, a quick ratio of 1.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.71. The business has a 50-day moving average of $219.68 and a 200 day moving average of $187.79.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 19th. The payment services company reported $3.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.01 by $0.32. American Express had a net margin of 13.84% and a return on equity of 30.99%. The firm had revenue of $15.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $15.79 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.40 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts expect that American Express will post 12.83 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Express Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 5th will be given a dividend of $0.10 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 4th. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.18%. American Express’s dividend payout ratio is 24.98%.

About American Express

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.