Torray Investment Partners LLC Has $17.30 Million Stake in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Torray Investment Partners LLC lessened its stake in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 12.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 58,287 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 7,963 shares during the period. American Express comprises approximately 2.5% of Torray Investment Partners LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 10th biggest holding. Torray Investment Partners LLC’s holdings in American Express were worth $17,299,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of American Express during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $832,000. World Investment Advisors LLC increased its holdings in American Express by 430.6% during the third quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC now owns 4,765 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $1,292,000 after buying an additional 3,867 shares during the period. XML Financial LLC increased its holdings in American Express by 9.8% during the third quarter. XML Financial LLC now owns 1,127 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $306,000 after buying an additional 101 shares during the period. LVM Capital Management Ltd. MI increased its holdings in American Express by 3.1% during the fourth quarter. LVM Capital Management Ltd. MI now owns 86,344 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $25,626,000 after buying an additional 2,557 shares during the period. Finally, Edge Capital Group LLC increased its holdings in American Express by 20.9% during the fourth quarter. Edge Capital Group LLC now owns 6,451 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $1,915,000 after buying an additional 1,113 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AXP has been the topic of several research reports. Monness Crespi & Hardt lifted their price objective on shares of American Express from $330.00 to $355.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. HSBC lifted their price target on shares of American Express from $270.00 to $294.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of American Express from $283.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, January 13th. William Blair reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of American Express in a report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of American Express from $355.00 to $370.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $296.38.

American Express Trading Down 1.9 %

AXP stock opened at $295.12 on Tuesday. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $307.36 and its 200-day simple moving average is $287.39. The company has a quick ratio of 1.57, a current ratio of 1.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64. American Express has a 52-week low of $214.51 and a 52-week high of $326.27. The firm has a market cap of $207.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.06, a PEG ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.24.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last posted its earnings results 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 net margin of 15.36% and a return on equity of 32.65%. As a group, equities analysts forecast that American Express will post 15.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Express Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 4th will be paid a dividend of $0.82 per share. 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 1.11%. American Express’s dividend payout ratio is presently 19.99%.

Insider Transactions at American Express

In related news, insider Ravikumar Radhakrishnan sold 9,485 shares of the company’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 $4,308,795. This represents a 41.27 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Raymond Joabar sold 15,179 shares of the company’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 transaction, the insider now owns 23,866 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,492,492.04. This trade represents a 38.88 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

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.