Hunter Associates Investment Management LLC Acquires 180 Shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Hunter Associates Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 7.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 2,704 shares of the payment services company’s stock after buying an additional 180 shares during the period. Hunter Associates Investment Management LLC’s holdings in American Express were worth $802,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Prospera Private Wealth LLC bought a new stake in American Express in the third quarter valued at $27,000. Kennebec Savings Bank bought a new stake in American Express in the 3rd quarter valued at about $29,000. True Wealth Design LLC raised its stake in American Express by 332.0% during the 3rd quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 108 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 83 shares during the period. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. bought a new position in American Express in the third quarter worth approximately $38,000. Finally, Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in American Express in the third quarter valued at approximately $46,000. Institutional investors own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

American Express Stock Performance

Shares of AXP opened at $318.84 on Friday. American Express has a 1 year low of $199.88 and a 1 year high of $326.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64, a current ratio of 1.67 and a quick ratio of 1.63. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $304.15 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $276.54. The firm has a market cap of $224.61 billion, a PE ratio of 22.76, a PEG ratio of 1.48 and a beta of 1.23.

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

American Express Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Activity at American Express

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AXP has been the topic of a number of research reports. UBS Group upped their target price on American Express from $283.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, January 13th. HSBC lifted their price objective on shares of American Express from $270.00 to $294.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. William Blair reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of American Express in a research report on Monday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on American Express from $301.00 to $307.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, Truist Financial began coverage on American Express in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $350.00 target price on the stock. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $294.95.

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.