American Express (NYSE:AXP) Shares Sold by Simmons Bank

Simmons Bank reduced its holdings in American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 2.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 5,446 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 123 shares during the quarter. Simmons Bank’s holdings in American Express were worth $1,616,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of AXP. Prospera Private Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of American Express in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Kennebec Savings Bank acquired a new stake in shares of American Express in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $29,000. True Wealth Design LLC lifted its holdings in shares of American Express by 332.0% in the 3rd quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 108 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 83 shares during the period. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. acquired a new stake in shares of American Express in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Finally, Financial Life Planners acquired a new stake in shares of American Express in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $38,000. 84.33% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the company. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on American Express from $355.00 to $370.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Monness Crespi & Hardt raised their price objective on American Express from $330.00 to $355.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Truist Financial assumed coverage on American Express in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $350.00 price objective for the company. HSBC raised their price objective on American Express from $270.00 to $294.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Citigroup raised their price objective on American Express from $305.00 to $320.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, American Express presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $296.38.

Insider Activity at American Express

In related news, insider Raymond Joabar sold 15,179 shares of American Express stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $313.94, for a total value of $4,765,295.26. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 23,866 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,492,492.04. This trade represents a 38.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Ravikumar Radhakrishnan sold 9,485 shares of American Express stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $319.17, for a total value of $3,027,327.45. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 13,500 shares in the company, valued at $4,308,795. The trade was a 41.27 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.11% of the stock is owned by insiders.

American Express Price Performance

AXP stock opened at $295.86 on Thursday. American Express has a 52-week low of $214.51 and a 52-week high of $326.27. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $307.37 and its 200-day simple moving average is $285.93. 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 $207.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.24.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last issued 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 research analysts expect that American Express will post 15.33 EPS for the current 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 issued a $0.70 dividend. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.95%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 3rd. American Express’s payout ratio is currently 19.99%.

About American Express

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.