Bank of New Hampshire Decreases Stock Holdings in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Bank of New Hampshire trimmed its position in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 1.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 8,928 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 148 shares during the quarter. Bank of New Hampshire’s holdings in American Express were worth $2,650,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Auxier Asset Management lifted its position in shares of American Express by 0.5% during the third quarter. Auxier Asset Management now owns 7,133 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $1,934,000 after buying an additional 35 shares during the last quarter. Abel Hall LLC lifted its position in shares of American Express by 3.6% during the third quarter. Abel Hall LLC now owns 1,011 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $274,000 after buying an additional 35 shares during the last quarter. Sovereign Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of American Express by 2.7% during the third quarter. Sovereign Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,467 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $398,000 after buying an additional 38 shares during the last quarter. Legacy Financial Strategies LLC lifted its position in shares of American Express by 2.5% during the third quarter. Legacy Financial Strategies LLC now owns 1,632 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $443,000 after buying an additional 40 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Concord Wealth Partners lifted its position in shares of American Express by 10.5% during the third quarter. Concord Wealth Partners now owns 422 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $114,000 after buying an additional 40 shares during the last quarter. 84.33% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

American Express Stock Performance

American Express stock traded down $1.45 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $300.43. The company had a trading volume of 165,115 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,688,304. The company has a current ratio of 1.63, a quick ratio of 1.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80. American Express has a 12-month low of $177.81 and a 12-month high of $307.82. The company’s fifty day moving average is $294.60 and its 200-day moving average is $267.67. The company has a market capitalization of $211.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.11, a P/E/G ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 1.23.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, October 18th. The payment services company reported $3.49 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.27 by $0.22. American Express had a return on equity of 32.46% and a net margin of 15.32%. The business had revenue of $16.64 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.68 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $3.30 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 8.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that American Express will post 13.4 EPS for the current year.

American Express Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 3rd will be given a dividend of $0.70 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 3rd. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.93%. American Express’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 20.60%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AXP has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Truist Financial initiated coverage on shares of American Express in a report on Tuesday. They set a “buy” rating and a $350.00 price objective on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on shares of American Express from $325.00 to $350.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. Bank of America upped their price objective on shares of American Express from $263.00 to $265.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 17th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of American Express from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 1st. Finally, Monness Crespi & Hardt upped their price objective on shares of American Express from $300.00 to $330.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $272.64.

Insider Activity

In other news, Vice Chairman Douglas E. Buckminster sold 13,111 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the insider now owns 109,691 shares in the company, valued at $29,724,067.18. This trade represents a 10.68 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Anre D. Williams sold 77,887 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $270.26, for a total value of $21,049,740.62. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 111,656 shares in the company, valued at $30,176,150.56. The trade was a 41.09 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 96,998 shares of company stock worth $26,423,439 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

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.