Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp Sells 218 Shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp decreased its position in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 0.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 63,058 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 218 shares during the quarter. Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp’s holdings in American Express were worth $18,715,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of American Express by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,142 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $636,000 after acquiring an additional 33 shares during the period. Catalina Capital Group LLC boosted its position in American Express by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Catalina Capital Group LLC now owns 3,356 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $996,000 after purchasing an additional 34 shares during the period. Boston Financial Mangement LLC increased its stake in shares of American Express by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Boston Financial Mangement LLC now owns 4,007 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $1,189,000 after purchasing an additional 34 shares in the last quarter. Abel Hall LLC raised its position in shares of American Express by 3.6% in the third quarter. Abel Hall LLC now owns 1,011 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $274,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares during the period. Finally, Sunflower Bank N.A. lifted its stake in shares of American Express by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Sunflower Bank N.A. now owns 4,054 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $1,203,000 after buying an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. 84.33% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Truist Financial lowered their target price on shares of American Express from $350.00 to $343.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday. StockNews.com cut American Express from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on American Express from $355.00 to $370.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. UBS Group upped their price target on American Express from $283.00 to $320.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Finally, Baird R W upgraded shares of American Express from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, March 14th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have assigned a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, American Express presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $302.24.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other American Express news, Director Michael J. Angelakis bought 3,700 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 7th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $269.89 per share, with a total value of $998,593.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 3,700 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $998,593. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Raymond Joabar sold 15,179 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $313.94, for a total value of $4,765,295.26. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 23,866 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,492,492.04. The trade was a 38.88 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

American Express Price Performance

Shares of American Express stock opened at $233.50 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64, a quick ratio of 1.57 and a current ratio of 1.58. American Express has a 52-week low of $214.51 and a 52-week high of $326.28. The company has a fifty day moving average of $288.96 and a 200-day moving average of $289.44. The stock has a market capitalization of $164.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.16.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 24th. The payment services company reported $3.04 earnings per share (EPS) 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 Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 4th will be paid a dividend of $0.82 per share. This represents a $3.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.40%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 4th. This is a positive change from American Express’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. American Express’s dividend payout ratio is 23.41%.

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.