Edgar Lomax Co. VA Sells 2,350 Shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Edgar Lomax Co. VA reduced its position in American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 1.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 123,415 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 2,350 shares during the quarter. American Express accounts for approximately 2.4% of Edgar Lomax Co. VA’s holdings, making the stock its 18th biggest holding. Edgar Lomax Co. VA’s holdings in American Express were worth $36,628,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in AXP. First Trust Advisors LP boosted its holdings in American Express by 4.2% during the 4th quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 1,138,144 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $337,790,000 after acquiring an additional 45,836 shares during the period. Holcombe Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of American Express during the fourth quarter worth $211,000. Infusive Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of American Express during the fourth quarter valued at $3,787,000. GeoWealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of American Express by 5.2% in the fourth quarter. GeoWealth Management LLC now owns 7,449 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $2,211,000 after purchasing an additional 367 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Capital International Sarl increased its stake in American Express by 54.1% in the 4th quarter. Capital International Sarl now owns 3,673 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $1,090,000 after buying an additional 1,289 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Argus cut shares of American Express from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, March 14th. StockNews.com lowered American Express from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. UBS Group raised their price objective on American Express from $283.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, January 13th. Compass Point lowered their target price on American Express from $325.00 to $309.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price target on American Express from $367.00 to $330.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, March 18th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have issued a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, American Express presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $294.90.

Insider Buying and Selling at American Express

In other news, Director Michael J. Angelakis purchased 3,700 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 7th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $269.89 per share, for a total transaction of $998,593.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 3,700 shares in the company, valued at $998,593. This trade represents a ? increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Raymond Joabar sold 15,179 shares of the 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now directly 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. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

American Express Stock Performance

Shares of AXP stock opened at $251.48 on Friday. American Express has a 12-month low of $218.84 and a 12-month high of $326.28. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $272.87 and its 200-day simple moving average is $287.59. 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 company has a market cap of $176.67 billion, a PE ratio of 17.95, a PEG ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.16.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 17th. The payment services company reported $3.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.47 by $0.17. The company had revenue of $16.97 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $17.04 billion. American Express had a return on equity of 32.65% and a net margin of 15.36%. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $3.33 EPS. Analysts expect that American Express will post 15.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Express Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 4th will be given a dividend of $0.82 per share. This represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.30%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 4th. This is an increase from American Express’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. American Express’s payout ratio is currently 23.41%.

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.