American Express Company $AXP Shares Purchased by BankPlus Trust Department

BankPlus Trust Department boosted its position in American Express Company (NYSE:AXP) by 115.3% in the second quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 2,823 shares of the payment services company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,512 shares during the quarter. BankPlus Trust Department’s holdings in American Express were worth $900,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Capital Asset Advisory Services LLC lifted its position in American Express by 2.8% in the second quarter. Capital Asset Advisory Services LLC now owns 1,191 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $384,000 after purchasing an additional 32 shares during the period. DLK Investment Management LLC lifted its position in American Express by 3.8% in the second quarter. DLK Investment Management LLC now owns 869 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $277,000 after purchasing an additional 32 shares during the period. Financial Engines Advisors L.L.C. lifted its position in American Express by 4.7% in the first quarter. Financial Engines Advisors L.L.C. now owns 772 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $208,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares during the period. Modern Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in American Express by 0.7% in the first quarter. Modern Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,921 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $1,324,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares during the period. Finally, Greenfield Savings Bank lifted its position in American Express by 0.3% in the second quarter. Greenfield Savings Bank now owns 13,116 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $4,184,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

American Express Stock Down 1.3%

AXP stock opened at $327.61 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $227.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.99, a PEG ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 1.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80, a quick ratio of 1.60 and a current ratio of 1.61. American Express Company has a one year low of $220.43 and a one year high of $349.19. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $320.81 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $299.26.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last released its earnings results on Friday, July 18th. The payment services company reported $4.08 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.86 by $0.22. The firm had revenue of $17.86 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $17.70 billion. American Express had a net margin of 14.78% and a return on equity of 32.87%. American Express’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $3.49 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that American Express Company will post 15.33 EPS for the current year.

American Express Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.82 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 10th. This represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.0%. American Express’s payout ratio is currently 23.02%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of American Express in a research report on Monday, July 14th. BTIG Research set a $277.00 price target on shares of American Express and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research report on Monday, July 14th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price target on shares of American Express from $371.00 to $375.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, July 21st. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of American Express from $311.00 to $362.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, September 29th. Finally, Evercore ISI lifted their price target on shares of American Express from $330.00 to $365.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 30th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, American Express presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $323.55.

Insider Activity at American Express

In related news, CEO Stephen J. Squeri sold 112,272 shares of American Express stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $329.86, for a total transaction of $37,034,041.92. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 92,810 shares in the company, valued at approximately $30,614,306.60. The trade was a 54.74% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Glenda G. Mcneal sold 50,000 shares of American Express stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $309.50, for a total transaction of $15,475,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 10,957 shares in the company, valued at $3,391,191.50. The trade was a 82.03% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 269,996 shares of company stock worth $85,261,270. 0.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.