American Express (NYSE:AXP) Shares Sold by Torray Investment Partners LLC

Torray Investment Partners LLC decreased its holdings in American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 12.0% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 58,287 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 7,963 shares during the period. American Express accounts for approximately 2.5% of Torray Investment Partners LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 10th largest holding. Torray Investment Partners LLC’s holdings in American Express were worth $17,299,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Prospera Private Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of American Express during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Kennebec Savings Bank acquired a new stake in shares of American Express during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $29,000. True Wealth Design LLC increased its holdings in shares of American Express by 332.0% during the 3rd quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 108 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 83 shares during the last quarter. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. acquired a new stake in shares of American Express during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $38,000. Finally, Financial Life Planners acquired a new stake in shares of American Express during the 4th quarter worth approximately $38,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

American Express Price Performance

American Express stock opened at $295.12 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $207.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.24. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $307.36 and a 200-day simple moving average of $287.39. American Express has a 12-month low of $214.51 and a 12-month high of $326.27. The company has a current ratio of 1.58, a quick ratio of 1.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last released 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 net margin of 15.36% and a return on equity of 32.65%. Equities analysts expect that American Express will post 15.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Express Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Investors 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 yield of 1.11%. American Express’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 19.99%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently weighed in on AXP. Truist Financial began coverage on shares of American Express in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. They set a “buy” rating and a $350.00 price objective for the company. StockNews.com cut shares of American Express from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of American Express from $355.00 to $370.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on shares of American Express from $350.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of American Express from $305.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $296.38.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Ravikumar Radhakrishnan sold 9,485 shares of American Express stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 13,500 shares in the company, valued at $4,308,795. This trade represents a 41.27 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Raymond Joabar sold 15,179 shares of American Express stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the insider now owns 23,866 shares in the company, valued at $7,492,492.04. This 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 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.