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

BankPlus Trust Department purchased a new stake in American Express (NYSE:AXPFree Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 1,228 shares of the payment services company’s stock, valued at approximately $364,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AXP. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. raised its stake in shares of American Express by 17.2% during the third quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. now owns 12,739 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $3,455,000 after buying an additional 1,874 shares during the last quarter. IVC Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of American Express during the third quarter worth approximately $221,000. Bay Colony Advisory Group Inc d b a Bay Colony Advisors bought a new stake in shares of American Express during the third quarter worth approximately $235,000. Welch Group LLC raised its stake in shares of American Express by 9.8% during the third quarter. Welch Group LLC now owns 18,500 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $5,017,000 after buying an additional 1,658 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Asahi Life Asset Management CO. LTD. raised its stake in shares of American Express by 20.7% during the third quarter. Asahi Life Asset Management CO. LTD. now owns 10,553 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $2,862,000 after buying an additional 1,813 shares during the last quarter. 84.33% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

American Express Price Performance

Shares of AXP opened at $295.16 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $207.36 billion, a PE ratio of 21.07, a PEG ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.24. The company’s 50-day moving average is $307.38 and its 200-day moving average is $285.47. American Express has a fifty-two week low of $213.25 and a fifty-two week high of $326.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64, a current ratio of 1.58 and a quick ratio of 1.57.

American Express (NYSE:AXPGet Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 24th. The payment services company reported $3.04 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 forecast that American Express will post 15.33 EPS for the current year.

American Express Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared 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. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.95%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 3rd. American Express’s dividend payout ratio is 19.99%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Ravikumar Radhakrishnan sold 9,485 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $319.17, for a total transaction of $3,027,327.45. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 13,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,308,795. This trade represents a 41.27 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Raymond Joabar sold 15,179 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $313.94, for a total transaction of $4,765,295.26. Following the transaction, the insider now directly 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 30,664 shares of company stock valued at $9,613,503. 0.11% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AXP has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of American Express from $301.00 to $307.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Truist Financial initiated coverage on shares of American Express in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $350.00 target price for the company. StockNews.com downgraded shares of American Express from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of American Express from $355.00 to $370.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of American Express from $305.00 to $310.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. 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 company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $296.38.

Check Out Our Latest Analysis on AXP

About American Express

(Free Report)

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.

Further Reading

Institutional Ownership by Quarter for American Express (NYSE:AXP)

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