SouthState Corp Has $4.77 Million Stock Holdings in American Express Company $AXP

SouthState Corp boosted its stake in American Express Company (NYSE:AXP) by 3.8% in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 14,940 shares of the payment services company’s stock after purchasing an additional 550 shares during the quarter. SouthState Corp’s holdings in American Express were worth $4,766,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also bought and sold shares of AXP. Briaud Financial Planning Inc acquired a new stake in American Express in the second quarter worth $26,000. Access Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in American Express in the second quarter worth $26,000. Hughes Financial Services LLC acquired a new stake in American Express in the first quarter worth $35,000. 1 North Wealth Services LLC acquired a new stake in American Express in the first quarter worth $37,000. Finally, Chung Wu Investment Group LLC acquired a new stake in American Express in the second quarter worth $37,000. 84.33% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Compass Point reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $324.00 price objective on shares of American Express in a research note on Monday, October 20th. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on shares of American Express from $330.00 to $365.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 30th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of American Express from $311.00 to $362.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, September 29th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of American Express from $375.00 to $400.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 20th. Finally, Monness Crespi & Hardt lowered shares of American Express from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 15th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $332.65.

American Express Stock Performance

Shares of AXP stock opened at $365.95 on Thursday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $338.21 and a 200-day moving average of $312.69. The company has a market cap of $252.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.56, a P/E/G ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 1.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.78, a current ratio of 1.61 and a quick ratio of 1.59. American Express Company has a one year low of $220.43 and a one year high of $367.82.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last announced its earnings results on Friday, October 17th. The payment services company reported $4.14 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.98 by $0.16. The company had revenue of $18.43 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $18.03 billion. American Express had a net margin of 14.97% and a return on equity of 33.41%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $3.49 earnings per share. American Express has set its FY 2025 guidance at 15.200-15.500 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that American Express Company will post 15.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Express Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 10th. Investors of record on Friday, October 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.82 per share. This represents a $3.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 10th. American Express’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 22.01%.

Insider Buying and Selling at American Express

In related news, CMO Elizabeth Rutledge sold 50,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $360.21, for a total transaction of $18,010,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief marketing officer owned 85,577 shares in the company, valued at approximately $30,825,691.17. This trade represents a 36.88% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Denise Pickett sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $350.73, for a total transaction of $1,753,650.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 7,726 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,709,739.98. This trade represents a 39.29% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 193,292 shares of company stock valued at $65,363,878 in the last three months. 0.20% of the stock is owned by corporate 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.