Bank OZK Has $2.21 Million Position in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Bank OZK raised its position in American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 11.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 7,443 shares of the payment services company’s stock after buying an additional 781 shares during the period. Bank OZK’s holdings in American Express were worth $2,209,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Maple Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of American Express by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Maple Capital Management Inc. now owns 120,303 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $35,705,000 after buying an additional 667 shares during the last quarter. SVB Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of American Express during the fourth quarter worth $3,749,000. U S Global Investors Inc. increased its position in shares of American Express by 28.6% during the fourth quarter. U S Global Investors Inc. now owns 4,500 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $1,336,000 after acquiring an additional 1,000 shares in the last quarter. Pettyjohn Wood & White Inc. boosted its holdings in American Express by 45.4% during the fourth quarter. Pettyjohn Wood & White Inc. now owns 3,203 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $951,000 after purchasing an additional 1,000 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fielder Capital Group LLC boosted its holdings in American Express by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. Fielder Capital Group LLC now owns 6,019 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $1,786,000 after purchasing an additional 102 shares during the last quarter. 84.33% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at American Express

In related news, insider Ravikumar Radhakrishnan sold 9,485 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $319.17, for a total value of $3,027,327.45. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 13,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,308,795. The trade was a 41.27 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Raymond Joabar sold 15,179 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $313.94, for a total transaction of $4,765,295.26. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 23,866 shares in the company, valued at $7,492,492.04. This trade represents a 38.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.11% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have commented on the stock. BTIG Research increased their price target on shares of American Express from $266.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Monness Crespi & Hardt raised their price target on shares of American Express from $330.00 to $355.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. William Blair reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of American Express in a research report on Monday, January 27th. StockNews.com lowered shares of American Express from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, HSBC raised their price target on shares of American Express from $270.00 to $294.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, American Express currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $296.38.

American Express Stock Up 2.2 %

Shares of NYSE AXP opened at $300.77 on Friday. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $307.44 and its 200-day moving average price is $286.43. The company has a market capitalization of $211.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64, a quick ratio of 1.57 and a current ratio of 1.58. American Express has a 52-week low of $214.51 and a 52-week high of $326.27.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 24th. The payment services company reported $3.04 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.00 by $0.04. American Express had a net margin of 15.36% and a return on equity of 32.65%. Equities analysts forecast that American Express will post 15.33 earnings per share for the current year.

American Express Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 3rd were paid a dividend of $0.70 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 3rd. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.93%. American Express’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 19.99%.

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.