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

Edgar Lomax Co. VA trimmed its holdings in American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 1.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 123,415 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 2,350 shares during the quarter. American Express comprises approximately 2.4% of Edgar Lomax Co. VA’s portfolio, making the stock its 18th biggest position. Edgar Lomax Co. VA’s holdings in American Express were worth $36,628,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the business. Sellwood Investment Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of American Express in the fourth quarter worth approximately $33,000. Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp purchased a new stake in American Express in the fourth quarter worth approximately $33,000. Curio Wealth LLC bought a new stake in American Express in the 4th quarter worth approximately $37,000. Financial Life Planners bought a new stake in American Express in the 4th quarter worth approximately $38,000. Finally, Sierra Ocean LLC purchased a new stake in American Express during the 4th quarter valued at $40,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Michael J. Angelakis acquired 3,700 shares of American Express stock in a transaction on Friday, March 7th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $269.89 per share, with a total value of $998,593.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 3,700 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $998,593. The trade was a ∞ increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Ravikumar Radhakrishnan sold 9,485 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $319.17, for a total value of $3,027,327.45. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 13,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,308,795. The trade was a 41.27 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on American Express from $325.00 to $244.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on American Express from $355.00 to $370.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. StockNews.com lowered shares of American Express from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on shares of American Express from $315.00 to $344.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, BTIG Research boosted their target price on shares of American Express from $266.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have given a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $294.90.

American Express Trading Down 0.6 %

AXP stock opened at $251.48 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $176.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.95, a PEG ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64, a current ratio of 1.58 and a quick ratio of 1.57. American Express has a 1-year low of $218.84 and a 1-year high of $326.28. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $272.87 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $287.59.

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

American Express Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed 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 1.30%. This is a boost from American Express’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 4th. American Express’s dividend payout ratio is 23.41%.

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.