American Express Company $AXP Position Increased by Hodges Capital Management Inc.

Hodges Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of American Express Company (NYSE:AXP) by 62.7% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 15,881 shares of the payment services company’s stock after purchasing an additional 6,120 shares during the period. Hodges Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in American Express were worth $4,273,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its position in shares of American Express by 5.5% during the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 680,308 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $183,037,000 after acquiring an additional 35,295 shares during the last quarter. Pinnacle Financial Partners Inc grew its position in shares of American Express by 1.4% during the first quarter. Pinnacle Financial Partners Inc now owns 167,534 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $45,243,000 after acquiring an additional 2,259 shares during the last quarter. R Squared Ltd bought a new position in shares of American Express during the first quarter worth about $509,000. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. grew its position in shares of American Express by 6.4% during the first quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 94,458 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $25,088,000 after acquiring an additional 5,693 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Navis Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of American Express by 368.7% during the first quarter. Navis Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,548 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $955,000 after acquiring an additional 2,791 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

American Express Price Performance

Shares of NYSE AXP opened at $329.43 on Friday. American Express Company has a twelve month low of $220.43 and a twelve month high of $332.46. The company has a current ratio of 1.61, a quick ratio of 1.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80. The company has a market capitalization of $229.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.12, a PEG ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 1.28. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $313.34 and a two-hundred day moving average of $291.71.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, July 18th. The payment services company reported $4.08 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.86 by $0.22. American Express had a net margin of 14.78% and a return on equity of 32.87%. The company had revenue of $17.86 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $17.70 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $3.49 EPS. American Express’s revenue was up 9.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts expect that American Express Company will post 15.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Express Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 8th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 3rd were issued a $0.82 dividend. This represents a $3.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, July 3rd. American Express’s dividend payout ratio is presently 23.02%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other American Express news, Vice Chairman Douglas E. Buckminster sold 23,505 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $326.37, for a total value of $7,671,326.85. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 123,613 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $40,343,574.81. This represents a 15.98% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Stephen J. Squeri sold 112,272 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $329.86, for a total transaction of $37,034,041.92. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 92,810 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $30,614,306.60. The trade was a 54.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 269,996 shares of company stock worth $85,261,270 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently commented on AXP shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on shares of American Express from $360.00 to $371.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. Truist Financial upped their price target on shares of American Express from $335.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. BTIG Research set a $277.00 price target on shares of American Express and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research report on Monday, July 14th. Monness Crespi & Hardt lowered shares of American Express from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price objective on shares of American Express from $371.00 to $375.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, July 21st. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $313.45.

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.