American Express (NYSE:AXP) Shares Bought by Teacher Retirement System of Texas

Teacher Retirement System of Texas increased its position in American Express (NYSE:AXP - Free Report) by 19.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 328,870 shares of the payment services company's stock after buying an additional 54,348 shares during the quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas' holdings in American Express were worth $97,605,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of American Express by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,142 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $636,000 after acquiring an additional 33 shares in the last quarter. Catalina Capital Group LLC increased its position in American Express by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Catalina Capital Group LLC now owns 3,356 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $996,000 after purchasing an additional 34 shares during the last quarter. Boston Financial Mangement LLC lifted its position in American Express by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Boston Financial Mangement LLC now owns 4,007 shares of the payment services company's stock valued at $1,189,000 after purchasing an additional 34 shares during the last quarter. Auxier Asset Management grew its stake in shares of American Express by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. Auxier Asset Management now owns 7,133 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $1,934,000 after buying an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Abel Hall LLC grew its stake in shares of American Express by 3.6% in the 3rd quarter. Abel Hall LLC now owns 1,011 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $274,000 after buying an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.33% of the company's stock.

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Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently commented on the stock. Argus downgraded shares of American Express from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, March 14th. UBS Group raised their price objective on American Express from $283.00 to $320.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, January 13th. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price target on American Express from $367.00 to $330.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on American Express from $330.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Bank of America cut their price objective on shares of American Express from $326.00 to $325.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, March 18th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have issued a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $302.57.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other American Express news, Director Michael J. Angelakis acquired 3,700 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 7th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $269.89 per share, with a total value of $998,593.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 3,700 shares of the company's stock, valued at $998,593. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Raymond Joabar sold 15,179 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 23,866 shares in the company, valued at $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. Corporate insiders own 0.12% of the company's stock.

American Express Stock Up 2.8 %

NYSE AXP traded up $7.47 during trading on Monday, reaching $277.98. 2,650,586 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,626,371. American Express has a 12-month low of $214.51 and a 12-month high of $326.28. 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 firm has a market cap of $195.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.21. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $298.30 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $288.81.

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

American Express Increases Dividend

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

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.