BankPlus Trust Department Buys Shares of 1,228 American Express (NYSE:AXP)

BankPlus Trust Department bought a new stake in American Express (NYSE:AXP) during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund bought 1,228 shares of the payment services company’s stock, valued at approximately $364,000.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of AXP. Prospera Private Wealth LLC acquired a new position in American Express during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Kennebec Savings Bank acquired a new position in American Express during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $29,000. True Wealth Design LLC increased its position 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 purchasing an additional 83 shares in the last quarter. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. acquired a new position in American Express during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $38,000. Finally, Financial Life Planners acquired a new position in American Express during the 4th quarter worth approximately $38,000. 84.33% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

American Express Trading Down 0.1 %

NYSE:AXP opened at $295.16 on Tuesday. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $307.38 and its 200-day moving average is $285.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64, a quick ratio of 1.57 and a current ratio of 1.58. American Express has a 52 week low of $213.25 and a 52 week high of $326.27. The firm has a market cap of $207.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.07, a P/E/G ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.24.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 24th. The payment services company reported $3.04 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.00 by $0.04. American Express had a net margin of 15.36% and a return on equity of 32.65%. Equities analysts expect that American Express will post 15.33 earnings per share for the current year.

American Express Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 10th. Investors of record on Friday, January 3rd were given a dividend of $0.70 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 3rd. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.95%. American Express’s payout ratio is presently 19.99%.

Insider Activity at American Express

In other American Express news, insider Raymond Joabar sold 15,179 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $313.94, for a total transaction of $4,765,295.26. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 23,866 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,492,492.04. This represents a 38.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Ravikumar Radhakrishnan sold 9,485 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $319.17, for a total transaction of $3,027,327.45. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 13,500 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,308,795. The trade was a 41.27 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 30,664 shares of company stock worth $9,613,503 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.11% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AXP has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Compass Point lowered their price objective on shares of American Express from $325.00 to $309.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 27th. BTIG Research upped their price objective on shares of American Express from $266.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Monness Crespi & Hardt upped their price objective on shares of American Express from $330.00 to $355.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of American Express from $283.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, January 13th. Finally, 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. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, American Express has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $296.38.

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.