Vest Financial LLC Buys 9,129 Shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Vest Financial LLC increased its stake in American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 8.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 111,576 shares of the payment services company’s stock after purchasing an additional 9,129 shares during the quarter. Vest Financial LLC’s holdings in American Express were worth $33,115,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Prospera Private Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of American Express in the 3rd quarter worth $27,000. Kennebec Savings Bank bought a new position in American Express in the third quarter valued at about $29,000. True Wealth Design LLC grew its stake in shares of American Express by 332.0% during the 3rd quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 108 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 83 shares during the period. Financial Life Planners purchased a new stake in shares of American Express during the 4th quarter valued at about $38,000. Finally, Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. bought a new position in shares of American Express in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $38,000. Institutional investors own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Ravikumar Radhakrishnan sold 9,485 shares of the 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 sale, the insider now owns 13,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,308,795. This represents a 41.27 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Caillec Christophe Le sold 6,000 shares of American Express 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 transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 6,433 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,952,286.84. This represents a 48.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 30,664 shares of company stock worth $9,613,503. Corporate insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

American Express Price Performance

Shares of American Express stock opened at $316.72 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $223.11 billion, a PE ratio of 22.61, a PEG ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 1.24. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $306.05 and a 200 day moving average of $279.30. The company has a current ratio of 1.67, a quick ratio of 1.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64. American Express has a 12 month low of $207.61 and a 12 month high of $326.27.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last posted 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 net margin of 15.36% and a return on equity of 32.65%. On average, research analysts expect that American Express will post 15.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Express Dividend Announcement

The firm 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 $0.70 dividend. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.88%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 3rd. American Express’s payout ratio is 19.99%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have commented on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on shares of American Express from $350.00 to $360.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Truist Financial began 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. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on American Express from $330.00 to $350.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on American Express from $355.00 to $370.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on American Express from $301.00 to $307.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $296.38.

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.