TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. Purchases 19,386 Shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP)

TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. increased its holdings in American Express (NYSE:AXP - Free Report) by 21.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 109,611 shares of the payment services company's stock after acquiring an additional 19,386 shares during the quarter. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc.'s holdings in American Express were worth $32,546,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky grew its stake in shares of American Express by 42.5% in the 4th quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky now owns 266,570 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $79,115,000 after buying an additional 79,566 shares during the last quarter. Tradition Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of American Express by 3.2% in the 4th quarter. Tradition Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,071 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $911,000 after purchasing an additional 94 shares during the last quarter. Trajan Wealth LLC boosted its stake in American Express by 11.2% in the 4th quarter. Trajan Wealth LLC now owns 14,032 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $4,164,000 after purchasing an additional 1,417 shares in the last quarter. Mirova boosted its stake in American Express by 2.2% in the 4th quarter. Mirova now owns 42,900 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $12,732,000 after purchasing an additional 943 shares in the last quarter. Finally, MetLife Investment Management LLC increased its stake in American Express by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 156,659 shares of the payment services company's stock valued at $46,495,000 after purchasing an additional 1,045 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 84.33% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at American Express

In related news, insider Ravikumar Radhakrishnan sold 9,485 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $319.17, for a total transaction of $3,027,327.45. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 13,500 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,308,795. This trade represents a 41.27 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Raymond Joabar sold 15,179 shares of American Express stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $313.94, for a total transaction of $4,765,295.26. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 23,866 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,492,492.04. This represents a 38.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

American Express Stock Performance

NYSE AXP traded down $2.53 on Friday, reaching $264.79. 1,939,195 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,223,196. 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 one year low of $220.43 and a one year high of $326.27. The firm has a market capitalization of $185.51 billion, a PE ratio of 18.90, a PEG ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.16. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $268.60 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $287.14.

American Express (NYSE:AXP - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 17th. The payment services company reported $3.64 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.47 by $0.17. The company had revenue of $16.97 billion for 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 in the previous year, the company earned $3.33 EPS. Analysts expect that American Express will post 15.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Express Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 4th will be paid a $0.82 dividend. This is a positive change from American Express's previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 4th. This represents a $3.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.24%. American Express's dividend payout ratio is 22.91%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on AXP. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of American Express from $283.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Royal Bank of Canada restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $310.00 price target on shares of American Express in a research note on Monday. Baird R W raised American Express from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, March 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on American Express from $244.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday. Finally, HSBC raised their price target on shares of American Express from $270.00 to $294.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have issued a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, American Express currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $295.05.

American Express Company 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.