Toronto Dominion Bank Lowers Holdings in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Toronto Dominion Bank lessened its position in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP - Free Report) by 31.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 205,902 shares of the payment services company's stock after selling 95,253 shares during the quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank's holdings in American Express were worth $61,107,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AXP. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of American Express by 2.3% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 11,752,084 shares of the payment services company's stock valued at $3,484,312,000 after purchasing an additional 268,572 shares in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its position in American Express by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 8,761,336 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $2,600,277,000 after purchasing an additional 95,927 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp grew its holdings in American Express by 16.3% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 6,825,135 shares of the payment services company's stock valued at $2,025,632,000 after purchasing an additional 955,811 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of American Express in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,785,867,000. Finally, DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main increased its position in shares of American Express by 463.3% in the fourth quarter. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main now owns 4,357,487 shares of the payment services company's stock valued at $1,293,259,000 after buying an additional 3,583,959 shares in the last quarter. 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 the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 7th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $269.89 per share, for a total transaction of $998,593.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 3,700 shares in the company, valued at $998,593. The trade was a ∞ increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Glenda G. Mcneal sold 3,019 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 10,919 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,889,822.54. The trade was a 21.66% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.20% of the company's stock.

American Express Trading Down 3.5%

AXP stock traded down $10.26 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $285.91. 3,444,567 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,851,846. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $200.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.41, a P/E/G ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.23. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $267.75 and a 200-day moving average price of $288.48. American Express has a 1 year low of $220.43 and a 1 year high of $326.28.

American Express (NYSE:AXP - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 17th. The payment services company reported $3.64 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 firm had revenue of $16.97 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $17.04 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $3.33 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that American Express will post 15.33 earnings per share for the current year.

American Express Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 9th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 4th were paid a $0.82 dividend. This represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.15%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, April 4th. This is a positive change from American Express's previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. American Express's dividend payout ratio is 22.91%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AXP has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on American Express from $244.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, April 21st. Truist Financial cut their target price on shares of American Express from $340.00 to $315.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. HSBC upped their price target on shares of American Express from $270.00 to $294.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. William Blair reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of American Express in a report on Monday, April 21st. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their target price on American Express from $305.00 to $310.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have given a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $295.05.

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.