Simmons Bank Trims Stake in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Simmons Bank cut its stake in American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 12.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 7,705 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 1,132 shares during the period. Simmons Bank’s holdings in American Express were worth $1,443,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in AXP. BKM Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in American Express during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Tennessee Valley Asset Management Partners purchased a new stake in American Express during the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Baldwin Brothers LLC MA increased its holdings in shares of American Express by 134.8% in the 4th quarter. Baldwin Brothers LLC MA now owns 155 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 89 shares in the last quarter. WFA Asset Management Corp bought a new position in shares of American Express during the fourth quarter valued at $30,000. Finally, Pacifica Partners Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of American Express during the fourth quarter valued at $29,000. Institutional investors own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on AXP. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on shares of American Express from $190.00 to $205.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 1st. Barclays reissued an “equal weight” rating and issued a $221.00 target price (up previously from $220.00) on shares of American Express in a report on Tuesday, April 9th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on American Express from $167.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. Oppenheimer reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of American Express in a research note on Friday, April 5th. Finally, Evercore ISI increased their price objective on shares of American Express from $243.00 to $255.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 24th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, American Express presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $210.71.

Insider Transactions at American Express

In other news, Vice Chairman Douglas E. Buckminster sold 117,309 shares of American Express stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $232.44, for a total transaction of $27,267,303.96. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 110,318 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $25,642,315.92. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, Vice Chairman Douglas E. Buckminster sold 117,309 shares of American Express stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $232.44, for a total value of $27,267,303.96. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 110,318 shares in the company, valued at approximately $25,642,315.92. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Laureen Seeger sold 84,420 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $212.98, for a total value of $17,979,771.60. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 57,512 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,248,905.76. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 327,933 shares of company stock worth $73,199,843 over the last 90 days. 0.11% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

American Express Stock Up 0.1 %

Shares of AXP stock traded up $0.29 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $234.62. 2,084,289 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,188,171. The stock has a market cap of $168.76 billion, a PE ratio of 19.33, a PEG ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 1.20. The company has a current ratio of 1.62, a quick ratio of 1.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.70. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $225.31 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $196.14. American Express has a 1 year low of $140.91 and a 1 year high of $240.55.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 19th. The payment services company reported $3.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.97 by $0.36. American Express had a net margin of 14.50% and a return on equity of 32.46%. The business had revenue of $15.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $15.79 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.40 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 10.6% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that American Express will post 12.99 EPS for the current year.

American Express Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 9th. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 5th will be issued a $0.70 dividend. This is an increase from American Express’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.10. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.19%. American Express’s dividend payout ratio is 23.06%.

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.