Bank OZK Buys 1,521 Shares of American Express Company $AXP

Bank OZK grew its stake in American Express Company (NYSE:AXP) by 20.4% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 8,964 shares of the payment services company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,521 shares during the period. Bank OZK’s holdings in American Express were worth $2,412,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Investment Management Corp VA ADV bought a new stake in shares of American Express during the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of American Express during the 1st quarter worth approximately $29,000. Nexus Investment Management ULC bought a new stake in shares of American Express during the 1st quarter worth approximately $34,000. Hughes Financial Services LLC bought a new stake in shares of American Express during the 1st quarter worth approximately $35,000. Finally, IAG Wealth Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of American Express during the 1st quarter worth approximately $40,000. 84.33% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

American Express Trading Up 0.5%

Shares of NYSE:AXP opened at $307.01 on Tuesday. American Express Company has a 12-month low of $220.43 and a 12-month high of $329.14. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $307.33 and its 200-day simple moving average is $289.90. The company has a market capitalization of $213.64 billion, a PE ratio of 21.54, a P/E/G ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 1.28. The company has a current ratio of 1.61, a quick ratio of 1.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80.

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

American Express Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 8th. Investors of record on Thursday, July 3rd were paid a dividend of $0.82 per share. This represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, July 3rd. American Express’s payout ratio is 23.02%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on AXP shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price target on American Express from $371.00 to $375.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 21st. BTIG Research set a $277.00 price objective on American Express and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a report on Monday, July 14th. Barclays raised their price objective on American Express from $249.00 to $297.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Redburn Atlantic upgraded American Express from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $270.00 to $255.00 in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, Truist Financial raised their price objective on American Express from $335.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have given a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, American Express currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $311.05.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Anna Marrs sold 5,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $310.77, for a total transaction of $1,709,235.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 20,311 shares in the company, valued at $6,312,049.47. The trade was a 21.31% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Laureen Seeger sold 61,721 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $297.47, for a total value of $18,360,145.87. Following the transaction, the insider owned 9,001 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,677,527.47. This trade represents a 87.27% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 134,219 shares of company stock worth $40,555,901 in the last ninety days. 0.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.