Penobscot Investment Management Company Inc. Has $2.97 Million Stake in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Penobscot Investment Management Company Inc. boosted its stake in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 2.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 10,005 shares of the payment services company’s stock after buying an additional 242 shares during the quarter. Penobscot Investment Management Company Inc.’s holdings in American Express were worth $2,969,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. True Wealth Design LLC lifted its stake in shares of American Express by 332.0% in the third quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 108 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 83 shares during the period. Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp acquired a new position in shares of American Express in the 4th quarter worth approximately $33,000. Curio Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of American Express in the 4th quarter valued at $37,000. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. acquired a new stake in shares of American Express during the third quarter worth $38,000. Finally, Financial Life Planners bought a new position in American Express during the fourth quarter worth $38,000. Institutional investors own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have commented on AXP shares. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of American Express from $355.00 to $370.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. BTIG Research raised their target price on American Express from $266.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Monness Crespi & Hardt boosted their price target on American Express from $330.00 to $355.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of American Express from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, William Blair reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of American Express in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have assigned a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $302.57.

American Express Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:AXP opened at $279.23 on Wednesday. American Express has a 1-year low of $214.51 and a 1-year high of $326.28. The company has a current ratio of 1.58, a quick ratio of 1.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64. The stock has a market cap of $196.17 billion, a PE ratio of 19.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.21. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $297.50 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $289.24.

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

American Express Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 4th will be issued a $0.82 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 4th. This is a positive change from American Express’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. This represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.17%. American Express’s dividend payout ratio is currently 23.41%.

Insider Activity at American Express

In related news, Director Michael J. Angelakis acquired 3,700 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 7th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $269.89 per share, for a total transaction of $998,593.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 3,700 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $998,593. This represents a ∞ increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, 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 transaction of $3,027,327.45. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 13,500 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,308,795. The trade was a 41.27 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.12% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.