Kentucky Trust Co Invests $270,000 in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Kentucky Trust Co purchased a new stake in American Express (NYSE:AXP) in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm purchased 910 shares of the payment services company’s stock, valued at approximately $270,000.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Prospera Private Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of American Express during the third quarter worth $27,000. Kennebec Savings Bank acquired a new stake in shares of American Express in the 3rd quarter valued at $29,000. True Wealth Design LLC boosted its stake in shares of American Express by 332.0% during the 3rd 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 in the last quarter. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. acquired a new position in American Express in the 3rd quarter valued at $38,000. Finally, Financial Life Planners bought a new position in shares of American Express in the fourth quarter worth about $38,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

American Express Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:AXP opened at $309.61 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $218.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.10, a P/E/G ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 1.24. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $306.45 and a 200 day simple moving average of $280.80. The company has a current ratio of 1.67, a quick ratio of 1.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64. American Express has a 1 year low of $207.61 and a 1 year high of $326.27.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last announced its earnings results on Friday, January 24th. The payment services company reported $3.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.00 by $0.04. American Express had a net margin of 15.36% and a return on equity of 32.65%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that American Express will post 15.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Express Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 10th. Investors of record on Friday, January 3rd were paid a $0.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 3rd. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.90%. American Express’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 19.99%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on AXP shares. BTIG Research boosted their price target on American Express from $266.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. HSBC lifted their price target on shares of American Express from $270.00 to $294.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of American Express from $250.00 to $257.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Truist Financial initiated 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. Finally, UBS Group boosted their target price on American Express from $283.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $296.38.

Insider Buying and Selling at American Express

In related news, insider Raymond Joabar sold 15,179 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the insider now owns 23,866 shares in the company, valued at $7,492,492.04. This represents a 38.88 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Ravikumar Radhakrishnan sold 9,485 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $319.17, for a total transaction of $3,027,327.45. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 13,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,308,795. This represents a 41.27 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 30,664 shares of company stock valued at $9,613,503 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.11% 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.