Eastern Bank Has $54.33 Million Position in American Express Company $AXP

Eastern Bank reduced its holdings in shares of American Express Company (NYSE:AXP) by 21.1% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 170,332 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 45,551 shares during the period. Eastern Bank’s holdings in American Express were worth $54,333,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of American Express by 5.5% during the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 680,308 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $183,037,000 after purchasing an additional 35,295 shares in the last quarter. Pinnacle Financial Partners Inc boosted its position in shares of American Express by 1.4% during the 1st quarter. Pinnacle Financial Partners Inc now owns 167,534 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $45,243,000 after purchasing an additional 2,259 shares in the last quarter. R Squared Ltd bought a new position in shares of American Express during the 1st quarter worth about $509,000. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. boosted its position in shares of American Express by 6.4% during the 1st quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 94,458 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $25,088,000 after purchasing an additional 5,693 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Navis Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of American Express by 368.7% during the 1st quarter. Navis Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,548 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $955,000 after purchasing an additional 2,791 shares in the last quarter. 84.33% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

American Express Price Performance

American Express stock opened at $316.27 on Friday. American Express Company has a 52 week low of $220.43 and a 52 week high of $349.19. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $322.16 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $300.00. The company has a quick ratio of 1.60, a current ratio of 1.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80. The stock has a market cap of $220.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.19, a P/E/G ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.29.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last posted 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. American Express had a net margin of 14.78% and a return on equity of 32.87%. The firm had revenue of $17.86 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $17.70 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $3.49 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 9.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that American Express Company will post 15.33 earnings per share for the current year.

American Express Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared 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 is Friday, October 10th. This represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.0%. American Express’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 23.02%.

Insider Activity at American Express

In other news, insider Glenda G. Mcneal sold 50,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the insider owned 10,957 shares in the company, valued at $3,391,191.50. This trade represents a 82.03% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Laureen Seeger sold 16,998 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $294.83, for a total transaction of $5,011,520.34. Following the sale, the insider owned 9,001 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,653,764.83. The trade was a 65.38% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 269,996 shares of company stock worth $85,261,270 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AXP has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of American Express from $350.00 to $375.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, September 5th. Truist Financial raised their price target on shares of American Express from $348.00 to $375.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, September 15th. Morgan Stanley raised 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. HSBC set a $295.00 price target on shares of American Express and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised 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. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, American Express currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $323.60.

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.