Saxon Interests Inc. Acquires 95 Shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Saxon Interests Inc. lifted its stake in American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 1.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 5,536 shares of the payment services company’s stock after acquiring an additional 95 shares during the quarter. Saxon Interests Inc.’s holdings in American Express were worth $1,643,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of AXP. Avanza Fonder AB bought a new position in shares of American Express in the fourth quarter valued at $12,083,000. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC grew its position in shares of American Express by 2.8% in the 4th quarter. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC now owns 4,931 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $1,464,000 after acquiring an additional 133 shares during the period. Procyon Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of American Express by 3.3% during the 4th quarter. Procyon Advisors LLC now owns 8,345 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $2,477,000 after purchasing an additional 270 shares during the last quarter. Tompkins Financial Corp raised its holdings in shares of American Express by 18.7% in the 4th quarter. Tompkins Financial Corp now owns 2,964 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $880,000 after purchasing an additional 466 shares during the period. Finally, Capital Planning LLC bought a new position in American Express during the fourth quarter worth about $213,000. Institutional investors own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

American Express Stock Up 0.1 %

AXP stock opened at $311.73 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $298.26 and its 200-day moving average is $270.90. American Express has a twelve month low of $177.81 and a twelve month high of $314.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $219.60 billion, a PE ratio of 22.93, a P/E/G ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 1.23. The company has a quick ratio of 1.63, a current ratio of 1.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, October 18th. The payment services company reported $3.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.27 by $0.22. The firm had revenue of $16.64 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 previous year, the firm earned $3.30 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that American Express will post 13.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Express Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 10th. Investors of record on Friday, January 3rd will be issued a dividend of $0.70 per share. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.90%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 3rd. American Express’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 20.60%.

Insider Buying and Selling at American Express

In other news, Vice Chairman Douglas E. Buckminster sold 13,111 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $270.98, for a total transaction of $3,552,818.78. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 109,691 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $29,724,067.18. This trade represents a 10.68 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Anre D. Williams sold 77,887 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $270.26, for a total transaction of $21,049,740.62. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 111,656 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $30,176,150.56. The trade was a 41.09 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 96,998 shares of company stock worth $26,423,439. Insiders own 0.11% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have issued reports on AXP. BTIG Research downgraded American Express from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $230.00 price target for the company. in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. TD Cowen raised their target price on shares of American Express from $260.00 to $268.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of American Express from $301.00 to $307.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday. Truist Financial began 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, StockNews.com raised American Express from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, January 11th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, American Express currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $278.09.

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.