SouthState Corp Boosts Position in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

SouthState Corp raised its position in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 870.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 13,143 shares of the payment services company’s stock after purchasing an additional 11,788 shares during the quarter. SouthState Corp’s holdings in American Express were worth $2,462,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Venture Visionary Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of American Express by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Venture Visionary Partners LLC now owns 23,211 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $4,349,000 after buying an additional 65 shares during the period. Global Wealth Management Investment Advisory Inc. lifted its holdings in American Express by 5.5% during the fourth quarter. Global Wealth Management Investment Advisory Inc. now owns 11,587 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $2,171,000 after purchasing an additional 609 shares in the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of American Express by 417.3% in the fourth quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 415,696 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $77,876,000 after purchasing an additional 335,338 shares during the period. Cullen Investment Group LTD. purchased a new stake in shares of American Express in the fourth quarter worth $2,460,000. Finally, J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. raised its position in shares of American Express by 35.6% during the 4th quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. now owns 9,806 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $1,837,000 after purchasing an additional 2,572 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on AXP shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price target on American Express from $240.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. Barclays reiterated an “equal weight” rating and set a $221.00 target price (up previously from $220.00) on shares of American Express in a research report on Tuesday, April 9th. William Blair reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of American Express in a report on Friday, April 26th. Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on shares of American Express from $190.00 to $205.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of American Express from $250.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 24th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, American Express presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $210.71.

American Express Trading Down 0.8 %

AXP traded down $1.86 during trading on Friday, reaching $230.64. The company had a trading volume of 3,203,104 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,211,802. The company has a quick ratio of 1.62, a current ratio of 1.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.70. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $224.31 and a 200-day simple moving average of $193.76. The stock has a market cap of $165.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.01, a PEG ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 1.20. American Express has a 52 week low of $140.91 and a 52 week high of $240.55.

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

American Express Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 5th will be issued a $0.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 4th. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.17%. American Express’s payout ratio is 23.06%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other American Express news, insider Laureen Seeger sold 84,420 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $212.98, for a total value of $17,979,771.60. Following the sale, the insider now owns 57,512 shares in the company, valued at $12,248,905.76. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, insider Laureen Seeger sold 84,420 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $212.98, for a total transaction of $17,979,771.60. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 57,512 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,248,905.76. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Stephen J. Squeri sold 69,356 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $213.02, for a total value of $14,774,215.12. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 122,158 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $26,022,097.16. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 203,891 shares of company stock valued at $44,373,196. Insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

American Express 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.