Mraz Amerine & Associates Inc. Sells 497 Shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Mraz Amerine & Associates Inc. trimmed its stake in American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 10.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 4,384 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 497 shares during the period. Mraz Amerine & Associates Inc.’s holdings in American Express were worth $1,301,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of AXP. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. purchased a new stake in American Express in the 4th quarter worth about $832,000. World Investment Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of American Express by 430.6% in the 3rd quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC now owns 4,765 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $1,292,000 after acquiring an additional 3,867 shares during the period. XML Financial LLC raised its holdings in American Express by 9.8% in the third quarter. XML Financial LLC now owns 1,127 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $306,000 after purchasing an additional 101 shares in the last quarter. LVM Capital Management Ltd. MI raised its stake in shares of American Express by 3.1% during the 4th quarter. LVM Capital Management Ltd. MI now owns 86,344 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $25,626,000 after acquiring an additional 2,557 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hager Investment Management Services LLC purchased a new stake in shares of American Express during the 4th quarter valued at $832,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

American Express Stock Performance

AXP opened at $311.37 on Tuesday. American Express has a twelve month low of $209.10 and a twelve month high of $326.27. The firm has a market capitalization of $219.34 billion, a PE ratio of 22.22, a PEG ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 1.24. The company has a current ratio of 1.67, a quick ratio of 1.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $306.96 and its 200 day moving average price is $282.46.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last issued its earnings results on Friday, January 24th. The payment services company reported $3.04 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 expect that American Express will post 15.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Express Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 3rd were issued a dividend of $0.70 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 3rd. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.90%. American Express’s dividend payout ratio is currently 19.99%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently commented on the stock. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of American Express from $305.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on American Express from $355.00 to $370.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Monness Crespi & Hardt raised their target price on American Express from $330.00 to $355.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. HSBC boosted their price target on American Express from $270.00 to $294.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Barclays lifted their target price on shares of American Express from $250.00 to $257.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $296.38.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Ravikumar Radhakrishnan sold 9,485 shares of American Express stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 5th. The stock was 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 directly owns 13,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,308,795. The trade was a 41.27 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Caillec Christophe Le sold 6,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $303.48, for a total value of $1,820,880.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 6,433 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,952,286.84. The trade was a 48.26 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 30,664 shares of company stock worth $9,613,503. Company insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

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.