Eastern Bank Decreases Stock Position in American Express Company (NYSE:AXP)

Key Points

• Eastern Bank has reduced its holdings in American Express Company by 13.2%, now owning 215,883 shares worth approximately $58.08 million, making it the bank's 24th largest holding.
• American Express reported quarterly earnings of $4.08 EPS, exceeding analyst expectations, with revenues reaching $17.86 billion, marking a year-over-year growth of 9.3%.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.82 per share, with the payout set to yield 1.06% annually, and a payout ratio currently at 23.02%.

Eastern Bank reduced its position in shares of American Express Company (NYSE:AXP - Free Report) by 13.2% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 215,883 shares of the payment services company's stock after selling 32,812 shares during the period. American Express comprises approximately 1.1% of Eastern Bank's holdings, making the stock its 24th largest holding. Eastern Bank's holdings in American Express were worth $58,083,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Investment Management Corp VA ADV purchased a new stake in shares of American Express during the fourth quarter valued at $29,000. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of American Express during the first quarter valued at $29,000. Nexus Investment Management ULC purchased a new stake in shares of American Express during the first quarter valued at $34,000. Hughes Financial Services LLC purchased a new stake in shares of American Express during the first quarter valued at $35,000. Finally, IAG Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in American Express in the 1st quarter worth about $40,000. 84.33% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at American Express

In other American Express news, insider Howard Grosfield sold 9,450 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $275.50, for a total value of $2,603,475.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 9,402 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,590,251. This represents a 50.13% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Glenda G. Mcneal sold 50,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $309.50, for a total value of $15,475,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 10,957 shares in the company, valued at $3,391,191.50. This trade represents a 82.03% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 64,950 shares of company stock valued at $19,787,710. Corporate insiders own 0.20% of the company's stock.

American Express Trading Down 1.4%

NYSE:AXP traded down $4.22 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $299.19. The company had a trading volume of 2,713,976 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,417,700. The firm has a market cap of $208.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.00, a P/E/G ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 1.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80, a quick ratio of 1.60 and a current ratio of 1.61. The business's fifty day moving average is $305.99 and its two-hundred day moving average is $291.53. American Express Company has a fifty-two week low of $220.43 and a fifty-two week high of $329.14.

American Express (NYSE:AXP - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, July 18th. The payment services company reported $4.08 earnings per share 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 firm had revenue of $17.86 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $17.70 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $3.49 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 9.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts expect that American Express Company will post 15.33 earnings per share for the current year.

American Express Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 8th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 3rd will be issued a dividend of $0.82 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 3rd. This represents a $3.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.1%. American Express's payout ratio is 23.02%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently issued reports on AXP. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on American Express from $250.00 to $311.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price target on American Express from $371.00 to $375.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, July 21st. DZ Bank downgraded American Express from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Monday, July 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on American Express from $260.00 to $342.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, July 11th. Finally, Truist Financial boosted their price target on American Express from $335.00 to $340.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have given a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, American Express currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $311.05.

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.