American Express (NYSE:AXP) Sees Large Volume Increase After Earnings Beat

American Express (NYSE:AXP) shares saw an uptick in trading volume on Friday following a stronger than expected earnings report. 1,546,015 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 36% from the previous session’s volume of 2,420,010 shares.The stock last traded at $317.02 and had previously closed at $325.87.

The payment services company reported $3.04 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.00 by $0.04. American Express had a net margin of 15.32% and a return on equity of 32.46%.

American Express Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 3rd will be issued a $0.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 3rd. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.88%. American Express’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 20.60%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have issued reports on AXP. Monness Crespi & Hardt upped their target price on shares of American Express from $300.00 to $330.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of American Express from $252.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, December 19th. TD Cowen upped their target price on shares of American Express from $260.00 to $268.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. Truist Financial assumed coverage on shares of American Express in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. They set a “buy” rating and a $350.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Compass Point increased their price objective on shares of American Express from $315.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $278.09.

Insider Buying and Selling at American Express

In other American Express news, Vice Chairman Douglas E. Buckminster sold 13,111 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $270.98, for a total transaction of $3,552,818.78. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 109,691 shares in the company, valued at $29,724,067.18. This represents a 10.68 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Caillec Christophe Le sold 6,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $303.48, for a total transaction of $1,820,880.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 6,433 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,952,286.84. The trade was a 48.26 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.12% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of American Express

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Prospera Private Wealth LLC bought a new position in American Express during the 3rd quarter worth $27,000. Kennebec Savings Bank bought a new position in American Express during the 3rd quarter worth $29,000. True Wealth Design LLC grew its stake in American Express by 332.0% during the 3rd quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 108 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 83 shares during the last quarter. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. bought a new position in American Express during the 3rd quarter worth $38,000. Finally, Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in American Express during the 3rd quarter worth $46,000. 84.33% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

American Express Stock Performance

The company has a market cap of $223.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.34, a PEG ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.23. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $300.94 and a 200-day moving average price of $273.70. The company has a quick ratio of 1.63, a current ratio of 1.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80.

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.