Daiwa Securities Group Inc. Raises Stake in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

by · The Markets Daily

Daiwa Securities Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 5.2% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 147,573 shares of the payment services company’s stock after buying an additional 7,258 shares during the quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc.’s holdings in American Express were worth $40,022,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Prospera Private Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of American Express in the third quarter worth $27,000. Kennebec Savings Bank purchased a new stake in American Express in the third quarter valued at $29,000. DHJJ Financial Advisors Ltd. grew its position in American Express by 42.2% during the 2nd quarter. DHJJ Financial Advisors Ltd. now owns 165 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 49 shares during the period. POM Investment Strategies LLC purchased a new position in shares of American Express during the 2nd quarter valued at about $42,000. Finally, Founders Capital Management acquired a new position in shares of American Express in the 2nd quarter valued at about $46,000. 84.33% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Vice Chairman Douglas E. Buckminster sold 13,111 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $270.98, for a total transaction of $3,552,818.78. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 109,691 shares in the company, valued at approximately $29,724,067.18. This trade represents a 10.68 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Anre D. Williams sold 77,887 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $270.26, for a total transaction of $21,049,740.62. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 111,656 shares in the company, valued at $30,176,150.56. The trade was a 41.09 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.12% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently commented on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on American Express from $270.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, October 7th. Bank of America raised their price objective on shares of American Express from $263.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut shares of American Express from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $268.00 to $286.00 in a research note on Monday, October 7th. Monness Crespi & Hardt raised their price target on shares of American Express from $265.00 to $300.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Finally, BTIG Research downgraded shares of American Express from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $230.00 price objective for the company. in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $253.09.

View Our Latest Report on American Express

American Express Trading Up 2.8 %

Shares of AXP opened at $301.30 on Friday. American Express has a 52-week low of $163.32 and a 52-week high of $301.92. The stock has a market cap of $212.25 billion, a PE ratio of 22.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.68 and a beta of 1.21. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $276.08 and its two-hundred day moving average is $253.23. The company has a quick ratio of 1.63, a current ratio of 1.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80.

American Express (NYSE:AXP – Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, October 18th. The payment services company reported $3.49 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.27 by $0.22. The firm had revenue of $16.64 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.68 billion. American Express had a net margin of 15.32% and a return on equity of 32.46%. American Express’s quarterly revenue was up 8.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $3.30 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that American Express will post 13.4 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Express Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 8th. Investors of record on Friday, October 4th were issued a $0.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, October 4th. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.93%. American Express’s dividend payout ratio is presently 20.60%.

American Express Company 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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