Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd Raises Holdings in American Express Company (NYSE:AXP)

by · The Markets Daily

Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd boosted its position in American Express Company (NYSE:AXP) by 5.3% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 331,849 shares of the payment services company’s stock after acquiring an additional 16,588 shares during the quarter. American Express accounts for 0.9% of Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 27th biggest position. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd’s holdings in American Express were worth $89,284,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Trillium Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of American Express by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. Trillium Asset Management LLC now owns 2,449 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $727,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. Zions Bancorporation N.A. increased its position in American Express by 2.4% during the fourth quarter. Zions Bancorporation N.A. now owns 1,510 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $448,000 after buying an additional 35 shares during the last quarter. Arista Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of American Express by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. Arista Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,275 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $675,000 after buying an additional 37 shares during the last quarter. PDS Planning Inc boosted its stake in shares of American Express by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. PDS Planning Inc now owns 2,967 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $880,000 after acquiring an additional 38 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CFO4Life Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of American Express by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. CFO4Life Group LLC now owns 3,410 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $1,012,000 after acquiring an additional 39 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Glenda G. Mcneal sold 3,019 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the insider owned 10,919 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,889,822.54. The trade was a 21.66% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Howard Grosfield sold 9,450 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $275.50, for a total transaction of $2,603,475.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 9,402 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,590,251. The trade was a 50.13% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently weighed in on AXP. Bank of America upgraded American Express from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $325.00 to $274.00 in a report on Friday, April 11th. Robert W. Baird raised shares of American Express from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $265.00 price objective for the company in a report on Friday, March 14th. William Blair reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of American Express in a report on Monday, April 21st. Argus lowered shares of American Express from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, March 14th. Finally, Redburn Atlantic raised American Express from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their price target for the company from $270.00 to $255.00 in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have issued a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $296.05.

Get Our Latest Research Report on American Express

American Express Stock Up 0.7%

Shares of AXP stock opened at $319.45 on Tuesday. American Express Company has a one year low of $220.43 and a one year 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 stock has a fifty day moving average price of $290.43 and a 200 day moving average price of $289.00. The stock has a market cap of $223.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 1.25.

American Express (NYSE:AXP – Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 17th. The payment services company reported $3.64 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.47 by $0.17. American Express had a net margin of 15.31% and a return on equity of 32.48%. The company had revenue of $16.97 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $17.04 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $3.33 EPS. Analysts predict that American Express Company will post 15.33 earnings per share for the current year.

American Express Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 8th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 3rd will be paid a $0.82 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 3rd. This represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.03%. American Express’s dividend payout ratio is currently 22.91%.

American Express Profile

(Free Report)

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.

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