HM Payson & Co. Grows Position in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

HM Payson & Co. boosted its stake in American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 3.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 84,496 shares of the payment services company’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,182 shares during the quarter. HM Payson & Co.’s holdings in American Express were worth $25,077,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of AXP. Avidian Wealth Enterprises LLC purchased a new stake in American Express in the third quarter valued at approximately $484,000. Graypoint LLC grew its holdings in American Express by 8.5% in the third quarter. Graypoint LLC now owns 4,100 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $1,112,000 after purchasing an additional 321 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in American Express by 4.5% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 653,012 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $177,097,000 after purchasing an additional 28,371 shares during the period. Portside Wealth Group LLC grew its holdings in American Express by 5.5% in the third quarter. Portside Wealth Group LLC now owns 3,030 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $822,000 after purchasing an additional 158 shares during the period. Finally, Mainstream Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in American Express in the third quarter valued at approximately $349,000. 84.33% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at American Express

In other American Express news, insider Ravikumar Radhakrishnan sold 9,485 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the sale, the insider now owns 13,500 shares in the company, valued at $4,308,795. The trade was a 41.27 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Raymond Joabar sold 15,179 shares of the business’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 sale, the insider now owns 23,866 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $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 insiders.

American Express Stock Down 0.9 %

Shares of NYSE:AXP opened at $273.13 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.58, a quick ratio of 1.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $305.44 and a 200 day simple moving average of $287.63. The firm has a market cap of $191.88 billion, a PE ratio of 19.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.21. American Express has a 12-month low of $214.51 and a 12-month high of $326.27.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 24th. The payment services company reported $3.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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%. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that American Express will post 15.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Express Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Investors of record on Friday, April 4th will be paid a $0.82 dividend. This represents a $3.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.20%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 4th. This is a positive change from American Express’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. American Express’s payout ratio is 23.41%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AXP has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Truist Financial initiated coverage on shares of American Express in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. They set a “buy” rating and a $350.00 price target on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of American Express from $301.00 to $307.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. StockNews.com cut shares of American Express from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. BTIG Research lifted their price target on shares of American Express from $266.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on shares of American Express from $350.00 to $360.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, American Express has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $296.38.

American Express 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.