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

CoreFirst Bank & Trust acquired a new position in American Express (NYSE:AXP) in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund acquired 2,808 shares of the payment services company’s stock, valued at approximately $833,000.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. True Wealth Design LLC boosted its holdings in shares of American Express by 332.0% in the third quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 108 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 83 shares during the period. Curio Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in American Express during the 4th quarter worth about $37,000. Financial Life Planners bought a new position in American Express in the 4th quarter worth about $38,000. Sierra Ocean LLC purchased a new position in American Express during the 4th quarter valued at about $40,000. Finally, Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. bought a new stake in shares of American Express during the third quarter valued at about $38,000. 84.33% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

American Express Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:AXP opened at $277.98 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.58, a quick ratio of 1.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $297.92 and a 200-day moving average price of $288.99. The company has a market cap of $195.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.21. American Express has a 12 month low of $214.51 and a 12 month high of $326.28.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 24th. The payment services company reported $3.04 EPS 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%. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that American Express will post 15.33 EPS for the current year.

American Express Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Investors of record on Friday, April 4th will be issued a $0.82 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 4th. This represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.18%. This is a boost from American Express’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. American Express’s payout ratio is 23.41%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently commented on AXP. William Blair restated an “outperform” rating on shares of American Express in a research report on Monday, January 27th. StockNews.com cut shares of American Express from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Robert W. Baird raised American Express from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $265.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Friday, March 14th. Monness Crespi & Hardt boosted their target price on American Express from $330.00 to $355.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Truist Financial assumed coverage on American Express in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. They set a “buy” rating and a $350.00 price objective for the company. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have given a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $302.57.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Michael J. Angelakis purchased 3,700 shares of American Express stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 7th. The shares were bought at an average price of $269.89 per share, for a total transaction of $998,593.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 3,700 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $998,593. This represents a ? increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Raymond Joabar sold 15,179 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $313.94, for a total transaction of $4,765,295.26. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 23,866 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,492,492.04. The trade was a 38.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

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.