Eastern Bank Purchases 2,218 Shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Eastern Bank boosted its position in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 0.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 248,695 shares of the payment services company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,218 shares during the period. American Express comprises about 1.4% of Eastern Bank’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 17th biggest position. Eastern Bank’s holdings in American Express were worth $73,810,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in American Express by 26,783.5% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 909,737 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $2,467,210,000 after buying an additional 906,353 shares during the period. FMR LLC lifted its stake in shares of American Express by 8.5% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 11,003,715 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $2,984,208,000 after purchasing an additional 866,110 shares during the period. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado boosted its position in shares of American Express by 924.2% in the 2nd quarter. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado now owns 851,431 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $197,149,000 after purchasing an additional 768,301 shares during the last quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC grew its stake in shares of American Express by 59,816.0% during the third quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC now owns 682,443 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $185,079,000 after purchasing an additional 681,304 shares during the period. Finally, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board increased its holdings in American Express by 71.9% in the second quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 1,164,098 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $269,547,000 after purchasing an additional 486,755 shares during the last quarter. 84.33% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently issued reports on AXP. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on American Express from $325.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, December 9th. TD Cowen upped their target price on shares of American Express from $260.00 to $268.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Evercore ISI increased their price target on American Express from $275.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a report on Monday, October 7th. StockNews.com upgraded American Express from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday. Finally, Hsbc Global Res downgraded shares of American Express from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $277.82.

Insider Transactions at American Express

In other news, CFO Caillec Christophe Le sold 6,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $303.48, for a total transaction of $1,820,880.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 6,433 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,952,286.84. The trade was a 48.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Vice Chairman Douglas E. Buckminster sold 13,111 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $270.98, for a total transaction of $3,552,818.78. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 109,691 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $29,724,067.18. This trade represents a 10.68 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 96,998 shares of company stock valued at $26,423,439. 0.12% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

American Express Price Performance

Shares of NYSE AXP traded up $4.03 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $297.33. The company had a trading volume of 1,495,876 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,091,271. American Express has a one year low of $177.81 and a one year high of $307.82. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $296.88 and its 200 day simple moving average is $269.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80, a quick ratio of 1.63 and a current ratio of 1.63. The firm has a market cap of $209.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.88, a PEG ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 1.23.

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

American Express Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 3rd will be given a $0.70 dividend. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.94%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 3rd. American Express’s dividend payout ratio is presently 20.60%.

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.