Martingale Asset Management L P Sells 17,798 Shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Martingale Asset Management L P lessened its position in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP - Free Report) by 11.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 133,695 shares of the payment services company's stock after selling 17,798 shares during the quarter. American Express makes up about 1.0% of Martingale Asset Management L P's holdings, making the stock its 17th largest position. Martingale Asset Management L P's holdings in American Express were worth $39,679,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AXP. Tandem Investment Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of American Express in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $243,000. APG Asset Management N.V. increased its position in American Express by 538.7% during the fourth quarter. APG Asset Management N.V. now owns 355,888 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $102,003,000 after buying an additional 300,168 shares in the last quarter. Advisory Services Network LLC increased its position in American Express by 16.8% during the fourth quarter. Advisory Services Network LLC now owns 29,872 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $8,866,000 after buying an additional 4,288 shares in the last quarter. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. purchased a new stake in shares of American Express in the fourth quarter valued at $50,000. Finally, Abacus FCF Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of American Express by 46.3% during the fourth quarter. Abacus FCF Advisors LLC now owns 43,121 shares of the payment services company's stock valued at $12,798,000 after acquiring an additional 13,640 shares during the last quarter. 84.33% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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Analyst Ratings Changes

AXP has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of American Express from $355.00 to $370.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price objective on shares of American Express from $367.00 to $330.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 18th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on American Express from $305.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on shares of American Express from $325.00 to $244.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Finally, Citigroup dropped their price objective on American Express from $320.00 to $300.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 24th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have assigned a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $296.81.

Insider Activity

In other American Express news, insider Raymond Joabar sold 15,179 shares of American Express stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 23,866 shares in the company, valued at $7,492,492.04. The trade was a 38.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Michael J. Angelakis acquired 3,700 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 7th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $269.89 per share, with a total value of $998,593.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 3,700 shares of the company's stock, valued at $998,593. This represents a ∞ increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.20% of the company's stock.

American Express Stock Up 1.1 %

American Express stock traded up $2.73 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $253.86. The stock had a trading volume of 903,983 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,875,292. The stock has a market cap of $178.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.12, a P/E/G ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.16. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $279.02 and a 200 day moving average price of $288.41. 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 $216.51 and a 12 month high of $326.28.

American Express (NYSE:AXP - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Friday, January 24th. The payment services company reported $3.04 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.00 by $0.04. American Express had a net margin of 15.36% and a return on equity of 32.65%. Research analysts predict that American Express will post 15.33 EPS for the current year.

American Express Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 4th will be given a $0.82 dividend. This is an increase from American Express's previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. This represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.29%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 4th. American Express's dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.