Washington Trust Bank Has $342,000 Stake in American Express Company (NYSE:AXP)

Washington Trust Bank decreased its position in American Express Company (NYSE:AXP - Free Report) by 48.8% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 1,271 shares of the payment services company's stock after selling 1,211 shares during the period. Washington Trust Bank's holdings in American Express were worth $342,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. U.S. Capital Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of American Express by 15.8% during the 1st quarter. U.S. Capital Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 8,787 shares of the payment services company's stock valued at $2,364,000 after buying an additional 1,199 shares during the period. Security National Bank of SO Dak boosted its stake in shares of American Express by 4.8% during the 1st quarter. Security National Bank of SO Dak now owns 2,200 shares of the payment services company's stock valued at $592,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the period. Callan Capital LLC boosted its stake in shares of American Express by 20.8% during the 1st quarter. Callan Capital LLC now owns 1,770 shares of the payment services company's stock valued at $476,000 after buying an additional 305 shares during the period. Capital Advisors Inc. OK raised its holdings in shares of American Express by 3.2% during the 1st quarter. Capital Advisors Inc. OK now owns 2,084 shares of the payment services company's stock valued at $561,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Heritage Wealth Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of American Express by 34.0% during the 1st quarter. Heritage Wealth Management Inc. now owns 1,834 shares of the payment services company's stock valued at $493,000 after purchasing an additional 465 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.33% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of American Express from $250.00 to $311.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday. Argus downgraded shares of American Express from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, March 14th. Wells Fargo & Company set a $327.00 target price on shares of American Express in a report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $310.00 target price on shares of American Express in a report on Monday, April 21st. Finally, Truist Financial lifted their target price on shares of American Express from $335.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have issued a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $305.74.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Glenda G. Mcneal sold 3,019 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $264.66, for a total transaction of $799,008.54. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 10,919 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,889,822.54. The trade was a 21.66% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Howard Grosfield sold 9,450 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $275.50, for a total transaction of $2,603,475.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 9,402 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,590,251. This represents 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.

American Express Price Performance

Shares of NYSE AXP traded down $5.75 during trading on Friday, reaching $319.49. The company had a trading volume of 2,090,080 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,847,673. American Express Company has a 52 week low of $220.43 and a 52 week high of $329.14. The stock has a market cap of $223.83 billion, a PE ratio of 22.31, a PEG ratio of 1.58 and a beta of 1.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64, a quick ratio of 1.57 and a current ratio of 1.58. The business's 50 day moving average price is $300.79 and its 200-day moving average price is $290.68.

American Express (NYSE:AXP - Get Free Report) last announced its 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 net margin of 15.31% and a return on equity of 32.48%. The company had revenue of $16.97 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $17.04 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $3.33 earnings per share. Analysts expect that American Express Company will post 15.33 earnings per share for the current year.

American Express Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 8th. Investors of record on Thursday, July 3rd will be paid a dividend of $0.82 per share. This represents a $3.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.03%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 3rd. American Express's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 22.91%.

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.