Toronto Dominion Bank Sells 95,253 Shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Toronto Dominion Bank cut its position in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 31.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 205,902 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 95,253 shares during the period. Toronto Dominion Bank’s holdings in American Express were worth $61,107,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in AXP. Ritholtz Wealth Management increased its position in American Express by 5.0% during the 4th quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management now owns 9,310 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $2,763,000 after purchasing an additional 446 shares during the period. Capital & Planning LLC bought a new position in shares of American Express during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $213,000. Procyon Advisors LLC increased its holdings in American Express by 3.3% during the fourth quarter. Procyon Advisors LLC now owns 8,345 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $2,477,000 after buying an additional 270 shares during the period. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC raised its stake in American Express by 2.8% in the fourth quarter. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC now owns 4,931 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $1,464,000 after buying an additional 133 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Merit Financial Group LLC lifted its holdings in American Express by 27.4% during the fourth quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 17,997 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $5,341,000 after buying an additional 3,875 shares during the period. 84.33% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Howard Grosfield sold 9,450 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $275.50, for a total transaction of $2,603,475.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 9,402 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,590,251. This trade represents a 50.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Glenda G. Mcneal sold 3,019 shares of American Express stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $264.66, for a total value of $799,008.54. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 10,919 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,889,822.54. This represents a 21.66% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

American Express Stock Performance

AXP opened at $299.48 on Friday. 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 has a 12-month low of $220.43 and a 12-month high of $326.28. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $266.20 and a two-hundred day moving average of $288.12. The firm has a market capitalization of $209.81 billion, a PE ratio of 21.38, a P/E/G ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.23.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 17th. The payment services company reported $3.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.47 by $0.17. The firm had revenue of $16.97 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $17.04 billion. American Express had a net margin of 15.36% and a return on equity of 32.65%. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $3.33 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that American Express will post 15.33 EPS for the current year.

American Express Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 9th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 4th were paid a $0.82 dividend. This is an increase from American Express’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, April 4th. This represents a $3.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.10%. American Express’s dividend payout ratio is presently 22.91%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on AXP shares. Citigroup cut their price target on American Express from $320.00 to $300.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, March 24th. Robert W. Baird upgraded American Express from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $265.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Friday, March 14th. Argus lowered shares of American Express from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, March 14th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of American Express from $305.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Redburn Atlantic raised shares of American Express from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their target price for the company from $270.00 to $255.00 in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have given a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $295.05.

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.