Mitchell Mcleod Pugh & Williams Inc. Increases Stake in American Express Company (NYSE:AXP)

Mitchell Mcleod Pugh & Williams Inc. lifted its stake in American Express Company (NYSE:AXP) by 0.4% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 9,692 shares of the payment services company’s stock after purchasing an additional 40 shares during the quarter. Mitchell Mcleod Pugh & Williams Inc.’s holdings in American Express were worth $2,608,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Trillium Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of American Express by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Trillium Asset Management LLC now owns 2,449 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $727,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares during the last quarter. Zions Bancorporation N.A. raised its position in American Express by 2.4% during the 4th quarter. Zions Bancorporation N.A. now owns 1,510 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $448,000 after buying an additional 35 shares during the last quarter. Arista Wealth Management LLC raised its position in American Express by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. Arista Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,275 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $675,000 after buying an additional 37 shares during the last quarter. PDS Planning Inc raised its position in American Express by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. PDS Planning Inc now owns 2,967 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $880,000 after buying an additional 38 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Avalon Trust Co raised its position in American Express by 6.6% during the 4th quarter. Avalon Trust Co now owns 634 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $188,000 after buying an additional 39 shares during the last quarter. 84.33% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at American Express

In other American Express news, insider Howard Grosfield sold 9,450 shares of American Express stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $275.50, for a total transaction of $2,603,475.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 9,402 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,590,251. The trade was a 50.13% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Glenda G. Mcneal sold 3,019 shares of American Express stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $264.66, for a total transaction of $799,008.54. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 10,919 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,889,822.54. This trade represents a 21.66% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

American Express Price Performance

American Express stock opened at $319.49 on Monday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $300.79 and its 200 day moving average price is $290.49. American Express Company has a 1 year low of $220.43 and a 1 year high of $329.14. The stock has a market capitalization of $223.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.31, a P/E/G ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 1.25. 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 (NYSE:AXP) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 17th. The payment services company reported $3.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.47 by $0.17. American Express had a net margin of 15.31% and a return on equity of 32.48%. The firm had revenue of $16.97 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $17.04 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $3.33 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that American Express Company will post 15.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Express Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 8th. Investors of record on Thursday, July 3rd will be paid a $0.82 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 3rd. This represents a $3.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.03%. American Express’s dividend payout ratio is currently 22.91%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have issued reports on AXP. Barclays raised their price target on shares of American Express from $249.00 to $297.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Monness Crespi & Hardt raised their price target on shares of American Express from $275.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, April 21st. Wells Fargo & Company set a $327.00 price target on shares of American Express in a research report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on shares of American Express from $360.00 to $371.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. Finally, Truist Financial raised their price target on shares of American Express from $335.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have issued a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $305.74.

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.