Missouri Trust & Investment Co Buys 92 Shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Missouri Trust & Investment Co grew its stake in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 5.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 1,860 shares of the payment services company’s stock after buying an additional 92 shares during the quarter. Missouri Trust & Investment Co’s holdings in American Express were worth $552,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

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

American Express Trading Up 1.8 %

Shares of AXP opened at $318.07 on Wednesday. American Express has a fifty-two week low of $184.06 and a fifty-two week high of $319.70. The business has a 50-day moving average of $299.65 and a 200 day moving average of $272.78. The firm has a market cap of $224.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.47 and a beta of 1.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80, a quick ratio of 1.63 and a current ratio of 1.63.

American Express Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 3rd will be paid a $0.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 3rd. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.88%. American Express’s dividend payout ratio is currently 20.60%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Vice Chairman Douglas E. Buckminster sold 13,111 shares of American Express stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $270.98, for a total transaction of $3,552,818.78. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 109,691 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $29,724,067.18. The trade was a 10.68 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Caillec Christophe Le sold 6,000 shares of the company’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 of the company’s stock, valued at $1,952,286.84. The trade was a 48.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.11% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently issued reports on AXP. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of American Express from $283.00 to $320.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on American Express from $300.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on American Express from $325.00 to $350.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Monness Crespi & Hardt boosted their price target on shares of American Express from $300.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, Hsbc Global Res cut shares of American Express from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $278.09.

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.