Texas Bank & Trust Co Purchases New Shares in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Texas Bank & Trust Co acquired a new position in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 10,553 shares of the payment services company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,132,000. American Express comprises 1.3% of Texas Bank & Trust Co’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 20th biggest holding.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Sellwood Investment Partners LLC bought a new stake in American Express during the 4th quarter worth about $33,000. Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp bought a new stake in American Express during the 4th quarter worth about $33,000. Curio Wealth LLC bought a new stake in American Express during the 4th quarter worth about $37,000. Financial Life Planners bought a new stake in American Express during the 4th quarter worth about $38,000. Finally, Sierra Ocean LLC bought a new stake in American Express during the 4th quarter worth about $40,000. 84.33% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Citigroup decreased their target price on American Express from $320.00 to $300.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, March 24th. William Blair restated an “outperform” rating on shares of American Express in a research report on Monday, April 21st. Compass Point decreased their target price on American Express from $325.00 to $309.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on American Express from $350.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Monness Crespi & Hardt boosted their target price on American Express from $275.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, April 21st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have given a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $295.05.

American Express Trading Down 0.0%

NYSE:AXP opened at $299.48 on Friday. American Express has a twelve month low of $220.43 and a twelve month high of $326.28. The company has a quick ratio of 1.57, a current ratio of 1.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $266.20 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $288.12. The company has a market cap of $209.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.23.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 17th. The payment services company reported $3.64 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.47 by $0.17. American Express had a return on equity of 32.65% and a net margin of 15.36%. The firm had revenue of $16.97 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $17.04 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $3.33 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that American Express will post 15.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Express Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 9th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 4th were given a dividend of $0.82 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, April 4th. This represents a $3.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.10%. This is an increase from American Express’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. American Express’s dividend payout ratio is 22.91%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Glenda G. Mcneal sold 3,019 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $264.66, for a total value of $799,008.54. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 10,919 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,889,822.54. This represents a 21.66% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Howard Grosfield sold 9,450 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $275.50, for a total value of $2,603,475.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 9,402 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,590,251. The trade was a 50.13% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

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.