American National Bank & Trust Buys 79 Shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP)

American National Bank & Trust lifted its stake in American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 1.8% in the first quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 4,507 shares of the payment services company’s stock after buying an additional 79 shares during the period. American National Bank & Trust’s holdings in American Express were worth $1,213,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in American Express by 1.6% in the 4th quarter. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,142 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $636,000 after buying an additional 33 shares during the period. Catalina Capital Group LLC increased its position in shares of American Express by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Catalina Capital Group LLC now owns 3,356 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $996,000 after acquiring an additional 34 shares during the period. Boston Financial Mangement LLC raised its stake in shares of American Express by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Boston Financial Mangement LLC now owns 4,007 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $1,189,000 after acquiring an additional 34 shares in the last quarter. Foster & Motley Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of American Express by 2.1% in the fourth quarter. Foster & Motley Inc. now owns 1,716 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $509,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares during the period. Finally, Silver Oak Securities Incorporated grew its stake in American Express by 2.5% in the fourth quarter. Silver Oak Securities Incorporated now owns 1,424 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $423,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

American Express Stock Down 0.5%

American Express stock opened at $294.04 on Friday. American Express has a 1-year low of $220.43 and a 1-year high of $326.28. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $270.91 and a 200-day moving average price of $288.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64, a current ratio of 1.58 and a quick ratio of 1.57. The stock has a market capitalization of $206.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.99, a PEG ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.23.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 17th. The payment services company reported $3.64 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.47 by $0.17. American Express had a return on equity of 32.65% and a net margin of 15.36%. The business had revenue of $16.97 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $17.04 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $3.33 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that American Express will post 15.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Express Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 9th. Investors of record on Friday, April 4th were paid a $0.82 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, April 4th. This is a boost from American Express’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. This represents a $3.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.12%. American Express’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 22.91%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have weighed in on AXP. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their target price on American Express from $367.00 to $330.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, March 18th. Monness Crespi & Hardt lifted their price objective on American Express from $275.00 to $285.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, April 21st. Citigroup dropped their target price on shares of American Express from $320.00 to $300.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, March 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of American Express from $244.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, April 21st. Finally, BTIG Research lowered their price target on shares of American Express from $272.00 to $240.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 21st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have assigned a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $296.05.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Michael J. Angelakis bought 3,700 shares of American Express stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 7th. The stock was bought at an average price of $269.89 per share, for a total transaction of $998,593.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 3,700 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $998,593. The trade was a ∞ increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Howard Grosfield sold 9,450 shares of American Express stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $275.50, for a total value of $2,603,475.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 9,402 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,590,251. This represents a 50.13% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.