American Express (NYSE:AXP) Shares Sold by Mechanics Bank Trust Department

Mechanics Bank Trust Department decreased its position in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 13.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,306 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 364 shares during the quarter. Mechanics Bank Trust Department’s holdings in American Express were worth $684,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. AE Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of American Express by 23.9% in the 2nd quarter. AE Wealth Management LLC now owns 14,979 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $3,469,000 after purchasing an additional 2,894 shares during the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its position in American Express by 4.5% in the second quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 40,554 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $9,390,000 after buying an additional 1,754 shares during the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. boosted its stake in American Express by 9.7% during the second quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 329,361 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $76,262,000 after buying an additional 29,046 shares during the period. Legacy Financial Advisors Inc. increased its position in shares of American Express by 7.6% during the second quarter. Legacy Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 2,654 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $615,000 after acquiring an additional 188 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC raised its stake in shares of American Express by 2.0% in the 2nd quarter. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC now owns 1,220,422 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $282,589,000 after acquiring an additional 23,487 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

American Express Stock Performance

Shares of AXP stock opened at $312.75 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 1.63, a quick ratio of 1.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $299.26 and a 200-day simple moving average of $271.98. The company has a market cap of $220.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 1.23. American Express has a 12-month low of $177.81 and a 12-month high of $315.40.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, October 18th. The payment services company reported $3.49 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.27 by $0.22. The business had revenue of $16.64 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.68 billion. American Express had a net margin of 15.32% and a return on equity of 32.46%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 8.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $3.30 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that American Express will post 13.48 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. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 3rd will be given a $0.70 dividend. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.90%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 3rd. American Express’s dividend payout ratio is currently 20.60%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Anre D. Williams sold 77,887 shares of American Express stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $270.26, for a total value of $21,049,740.62. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 111,656 shares in the company, valued at approximately $30,176,150.56. This trade represents a 41.09 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 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 sale, the chief financial officer now owns 6,433 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,952,286.84. This represents a 48.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 96,998 shares of company stock worth $26,423,439. 0.11% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AXP has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. BTIG Research cut American Express from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $230.00 target price for the company. in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Monness Crespi & Hardt lifted their price objective on shares of American Express from $300.00 to $330.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Truist Financial began coverage on shares of American Express in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. They set a “buy” rating and a $350.00 target price on the stock. HSBC cut shares of American Express from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and raised their price target for the company from $265.00 to $270.00 in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on American Express from $301.00 to $307.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $278.09.

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.