Hilltop National Bank Purchases 558 Shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Hilltop National Bank grew its holdings in American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 8.0% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 7,526 shares of the payment services company’s stock after acquiring an additional 558 shares during the period. Hilltop National Bank’s holdings in American Express were worth $2,234,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Prospera Private Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of American Express in the third quarter worth $27,000. Kennebec Savings Bank acquired a new stake in American Express during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $29,000. True Wealth Design LLC increased its holdings in American Express by 332.0% in the third quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 108 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 83 shares during the period. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. bought a new position in shares of American Express during the third quarter worth about $38,000. Finally, Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in American Express during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $46,000. 84.33% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have issued reports on AXP. Truist Financial started coverage on American Express in a research note on Tuesday. They issued a “buy” rating and a $350.00 price target on the stock. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on shares of American Express from $275.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a report on Monday, October 7th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of American Express from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 1st. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of American Express from $250.00 to $257.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of American Express from $252.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $272.64.

Insider Transactions at American Express

In related news, insider Anre D. Williams sold 77,887 shares of American Express stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $270.26, for a total value of $21,049,740.62. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 111,656 shares in the company, valued at $30,176,150.56. This trade represents a 41.09 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Caillec Christophe Le sold 6,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $303.48, for a total value of $1,820,880.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 6,433 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,952,286.84. This represents a 48.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 96,998 shares of company stock valued at $26,423,439 in the last quarter. Insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

American Express Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:AXP traded down $7.43 during trading on Friday, hitting $295.42. 753,405 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,905,828. American Express has a 52-week low of $177.81 and a 52-week high of $307.82. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $296.45 and a 200 day moving average of $268.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80, a current ratio of 1.63 and a quick ratio of 1.63. The company has a market cap of $208.11 billion, a PE ratio of 21.74, a P/E/G ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 1.23.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last posted its earnings results on Friday, October 18th. The payment services company reported $3.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.27 by $0.22. The business had revenue of $16.64 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.68 billion. American Express had a net margin of 15.32% and a return on equity of 32.46%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $3.30 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that American Express will post 13.4 EPS for the current year.

American Express Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 3rd will be paid a $0.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 3rd. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.95%. American Express’s dividend payout ratio is presently 20.60%.

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.