Teachers Insurance & Annuity Association of America Sells 180 Shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Teachers Insurance & Annuity Association of America trimmed its holdings in American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 1.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 13,355 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 180 shares during the period. American Express comprises about 5.2% of Teachers Insurance & Annuity Association of America’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 5th largest holding. Teachers Insurance & Annuity Association of America’s holdings in American Express were worth $3,964,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. True Wealth Design LLC increased its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 83 shares in the last quarter. Curio Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of American Express in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. bought a new stake in shares of American Express during the third quarter worth $38,000. Financial Life Planners bought a new stake in American Express in the 4th quarter valued at $38,000. Finally, Sierra Ocean LLC acquired a new position in American Express in the 4th quarter worth $40,000. 84.33% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

American Express Price Performance

NYSE:AXP opened at $277.98 on Tuesday. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $297.92 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $288.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64, a current ratio of 1.58 and a quick ratio of 1.57. The company has a market cap of $195.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.84, a P/E/G ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.21. American Express has a one year low of $214.51 and a one year high of $326.28.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 24th. The payment services company reported $3.04 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 earnings per share for the current year.

American Express Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Investors of record on Friday, April 4th will be issued a dividend of $0.82 per share. This is a boost from American Express’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. This represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.18%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 4th. American Express’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 23.41%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have issued reports on the company. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on American Express from $315.00 to $344.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Robert W. Baird raised American Express from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $265.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Friday, March 14th. UBS Group upped their price target on American Express from $283.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, January 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of American Express from $301.00 to $307.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of American Express from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have given a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $302.57.

Insider Buying and Selling at American Express

In other American Express news, insider Ravikumar Radhakrishnan sold 9,485 shares of American Express stock in a transaction dated 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 owns 13,500 shares in the company, valued at $4,308,795. The trade was a 41.27 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Michael J. Angelakis bought 3,700 shares of the firm’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 transaction, the director now owns 3,700 shares in the company, valued at approximately $998,593. This represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

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.