Richard P Slaughter Associates Inc Takes $219,000 Position in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Richard P Slaughter Associates Inc purchased a new position in American Express (NYSE:AXP) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 737 shares of the payment services company’s stock, valued at approximately $219,000.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. increased its stake in American Express by 76.6% during the 4th quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 1,757 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $521,000 after buying an additional 762 shares in the last quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC boosted its stake in shares of American Express by 54.0% in the fourth quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 25,266 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $7,499,000 after acquiring an additional 8,862 shares during the last quarter. Kathmere Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of American Express by 39.6% during the fourth quarter. Kathmere Capital Management LLC now owns 1,791 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $532,000 after purchasing an additional 508 shares in the last quarter. Board of the Pension Protection Fund acquired a new position in American Express in the 4th quarter valued at $1,068,000. Finally, Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in American Express by 4.3% in the 4th quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 12,207 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $3,623,000 after purchasing an additional 498 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

American Express Price Performance

Shares of NYSE AXP opened at $300.23 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $297.91 and its two-hundred day moving average is $270.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80, a current ratio of 1.63 and a quick ratio of 1.63. The company has a market cap of $211.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 1.23. American Express has a 1-year low of $177.81 and a 1-year high of $307.82.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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. American Express had a net margin of 15.32% and a return on equity of 32.46%. The company had revenue of $16.64 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.68 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $3.30 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 8.2% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that American Express will post 13.4 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Express Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 10th. Investors 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 dividend yield of 0.93%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 3rd. American Express’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 20.60%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently weighed in on AXP. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of American Express from $250.00 to $257.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Bank of America upped their price target on American Express from $263.00 to $265.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 17th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on American Express from $300.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. Truist Financial initiated coverage on American Express in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $350.00 target price for the company. Finally, Compass Point upped their price objective on shares of American Express from $315.00 to $325.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $278.09.

Insider Buying and Selling at American Express

In other American Express news, 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 transaction of $21,049,740.62. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 111,656 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $30,176,150.56. This trade represents a 41.09 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Vice Chairman Douglas E. Buckminster sold 13,111 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 109,691 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $29,724,067.18. The trade was a 10.68 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 96,998 shares of company stock worth $26,423,439 over the last 90 days. 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.