Texas Bank & Trust Co Takes Position in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Texas Bank & Trust Co purchased a new stake in American Express (NYSE:AXP) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 10,553 shares of the payment services company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,132,000. American Express accounts for 1.3% of Texas Bank & Trust Co’s portfolio, making the stock its 20th largest position.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. bought a new stake in American Express in the 4th quarter valued at $832,000. Keybank National Association OH raised its stake in American Express by 3.7% in the 4th quarter. Keybank National Association OH now owns 349,937 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $103,858,000 after acquiring an additional 12,364 shares during the period. Edge Capital Group LLC raised its stake in American Express by 20.9% in the 4th quarter. Edge Capital Group LLC now owns 6,451 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $1,915,000 after acquiring an additional 1,113 shares during the period. Game Plan Financial Advisors LLC raised its stake in American Express by 17.5% in the 4th quarter. Game Plan Financial Advisors LLC now owns 18,982 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $5,638,000 after acquiring an additional 2,826 shares during the period. Finally, NewEdge Wealth LLC raised its stake in American Express by 6.0% in the 4th quarter. NewEdge Wealth LLC now owns 26,102 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $7,747,000 after acquiring an additional 1,471 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AXP has been the topic of several recent research reports. Truist Financial lowered their price objective on American Express from $340.00 to $315.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Robert W. Baird upgraded American Express from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $265.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Friday, March 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on American Express from $244.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, April 21st. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on American Express from $315.00 to $344.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price objective on American Express from $367.00 to $330.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, March 18th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have assigned a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $295.05.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Glenda G. Mcneal sold 3,019 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $264.66, for a total value of $799,008.54. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 10,919 shares in the company, valued at $2,889,822.54. This represents a 21.66% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Howard Grosfield sold 9,450 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $275.50, for a total value of $2,603,475.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 9,402 shares in the company, valued at $2,590,251. The trade was a 50.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

American Express Stock Performance

American Express stock opened at $299.48 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.57, a current ratio of 1.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64. The stock has a market cap of $209.81 billion, a PE ratio of 21.38, a P/E/G ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.23. American Express has a 12-month low of $220.43 and a 12-month high of $326.28. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $266.20 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $288.12.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 17th. The payment services company reported $3.64 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.47 by $0.17. The firm had revenue of $16.97 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $17.04 billion. American Express had a return on equity of 32.65% and a net margin of 15.36%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $3.33 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that American Express will post 15.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Express Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 9th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 4th were paid a $0.82 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, April 4th. This represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.10%. This is an increase from American Express’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. American Express’s dividend payout ratio is currently 22.91%.

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.