American Express (NYSE:AXP) is Morton Community Bank’s 8th Largest Position

Morton Community Bank reduced its position in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 0.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 18,355 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 45 shares during the quarter. American Express accounts for approximately 1.4% of Morton Community Bank’s holdings, making the stock its 8th biggest position. Morton Community Bank’s holdings in American Express were worth $5,448,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in AXP. Independent Advisor Alliance raised its holdings in shares of American Express by 5.2% during the 4th quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance now owns 40,323 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $11,968,000 after acquiring an additional 2,003 shares in the last quarter. Paragon Private Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of American Express by 3.5% during the 4th quarter. Paragon Private Wealth Management LLC now owns 5,296 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $1,572,000 after buying an additional 180 shares in the last quarter. Tower Wealth Partners Inc. raised its holdings in American Express by 21.9% in the fourth quarter. Tower Wealth Partners Inc. now owns 1,878 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $557,000 after purchasing an additional 337 shares in the last quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. lifted its position in American Express by 2.2% during the fourth quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 150,854 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $44,772,000 after acquiring an additional 3,281 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Moran Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in American Express by 188.6% in the fourth quarter. Moran Wealth Management LLC now owns 68,841 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $20,431,000 after acquiring an additional 44,987 shares in the last quarter. 84.33% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

American Express Stock Down 0.9 %

Shares of American Express stock opened at $273.13 on Monday. American Express has a 12-month low of $214.51 and a 12-month high of $326.27. 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 capitalization of $191.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.50, a PEG ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.21. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $305.44 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $288.17.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last announced its earnings results on Friday, January 24th. The payment services company reported $3.04 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.00 by $0.04. American Express had a return on equity of 32.65% and a net margin of 15.36%. Equities analysts expect that American Express will post 15.33 earnings per share for the current year.

American Express Increases Dividend

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

Insider Activity at American Express

In other American Express news, insider Ravikumar Radhakrishnan sold 9,485 shares of American Express stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $319.17, for a total value of $3,027,327.45. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 13,500 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,308,795. The trade was a 41.27 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Raymond Joabar sold 15,179 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $313.94, for a total value of $4,765,295.26. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 23,866 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,492,492.04. This trade represents a 38.88 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.12% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AXP has been the subject of several research reports. Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of American Express from $305.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of American Express from $283.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, January 13th. William Blair reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of American Express in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on shares of American Express from $350.00 to $360.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on shares of American Express from $330.00 to $350.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average 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.