Troy Asset Management Ltd Trims Stock Holdings in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Troy Asset Management Ltd lessened its holdings in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 44.1% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 458,534 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 362,309 shares during the quarter. American Express makes up 4.6% of Troy Asset Management Ltd’s portfolio, making the stock its 5th largest holding. Troy Asset Management Ltd’s holdings in American Express were worth $136,088,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of AXP. True Wealth Design LLC lifted its stake in American Express by 332.0% in the third quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 108 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 83 shares during the last quarter. Sellwood Investment Partners LLC bought a new stake in American Express in the 4th quarter valued at about $33,000. Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp acquired a new position in American Express during the 4th quarter valued at about $33,000. Curio Wealth LLC acquired a new position in American Express during the 4th quarter valued at about $37,000. Finally, Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. bought a new position in American Express in the 3rd quarter worth about $38,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on AXP shares. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on American Express from $355.00 to $370.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Robert W. Baird upgraded American Express from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $265.00 price target for the company in a research report on Friday, March 14th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price objective on shares of American Express from $367.00 to $330.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 18th. Compass Point decreased their target price on shares of American Express from $325.00 to $309.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, HSBC upped their price target on shares of American Express from $270.00 to $294.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have issued a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $302.57.

American Express Stock Down 2.5 %

American Express stock opened at $265.16 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $295.02 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $289.13. The firm has a market cap of $186.28 billion, a PE ratio of 18.93, a P/E/G ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.21. American Express has a twelve month low of $214.51 and a twelve month high of $326.28. 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 (NYSE:AXP) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 24th. The payment services company reported $3.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.00 by $0.04. American Express had a return on equity of 32.65% and a net margin of 15.36%. On average, research analysts predict that American Express will post 15.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Express Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 4th will be issued a dividend of $0.82 per share. This represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.24%. This is a positive change from American Express’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 4th. American Express’s payout ratio is currently 23.41%.

Insider Activity at American Express

In other American Express 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 purchased at an average cost 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 trade represents a ? increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Raymond Joabar sold 15,179 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $313.94, for a total value of $4,765,295.26. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 23,866 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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. 0.12% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.