Crews Bank & Trust Takes Position in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Crews Bank & Trust purchased a new position in American Express (NYSE:AXP) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 299 shares of the payment services company’s stock, valued at approximately $89,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AXP. Capital Investment Advisory Services LLC increased its position in shares of American Express by 7.0% during the fourth quarter. Capital Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 1,048 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $311,000 after acquiring an additional 69 shares during the period. OLD National Bancorp IN increased its holdings in American Express by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. OLD National Bancorp IN now owns 6,119 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $1,816,000 after purchasing an additional 36 shares during the period. Strategic Planning Group LLC increased its holdings in American Express by 2.6% during the 4th quarter. Strategic Planning Group LLC now owns 11,659 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $3,460,000 after purchasing an additional 297 shares during the period. Milestone Asset Management LLC raised its position in American Express by 14.4% during the 4th quarter. Milestone Asset Management LLC now owns 24,642 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $7,314,000 after purchasing an additional 3,103 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hanson & Doremus Investment Management lifted its holdings in shares of American Express by 11.6% in the 4th quarter. Hanson & Doremus Investment Management now owns 3,026 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $898,000 after buying an additional 314 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Raymond Joabar sold 15,179 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $313.94, for a total value of $4,765,295.26. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 23,866 shares in the company, valued at $7,492,492.04. This represents a 38.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Caillec Christophe Le sold 6,000 shares of American Express stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $303.48, for a total value of $1,820,880.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 6,433 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,952,286.84. The trade was a 48.26 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently weighed in on the company. UBS Group lifted their price objective on American Express from $283.00 to $320.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, January 13th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on American Express from $350.00 to $360.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of American Express from $301.00 to $307.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Truist Financial started coverage on shares of American Express in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $350.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of American Express from $305.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $296.38.

American Express Trading Down 0.6 %

Shares of American Express stock opened at $317.12 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64, a quick ratio of 1.63 and a current ratio of 1.67. American Express has a fifty-two week low of $199.88 and a fifty-two week high of $326.27. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $304.66 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $276.84. The company has a market cap of $223.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.48 and a beta of 1.23.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 24th. The payment services company reported $3.04 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.00 by $0.04. American Express had a return on equity of 32.65% and a net margin of 15.36%. As a group, equities analysts predict that American Express will post 15.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Express Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 3rd will be issued a dividend of $0.70 per share. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.88%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 3rd. American Express’s payout ratio is 19.99%.

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.