American Express (NYSE:AXP) Stake Boosted by Sompo Asset Management Co. Ltd.

Sompo Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its position in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 1.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,910 shares of the payment services company’s stock after acquiring an additional 50 shares during the period. Sompo Asset Management Co. Ltd.’s holdings in American Express were worth $1,160,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Virtu Financial LLC bought a new position in shares of American Express during the 3rd quarter valued at $1,296,000. SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. boosted its stake in shares of American Express by 2.7% during the 3rd quarter. SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. now owns 8,031 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $2,178,000 after acquiring an additional 209 shares in the last quarter. SkyView Investment Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of American Express by 3.1% in the 3rd quarter. SkyView Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,423 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $657,000 after acquiring an additional 73 shares in the last quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC boosted its position in American Express by 430.6% during the third quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC now owns 4,765 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $1,292,000 after purchasing an additional 3,867 shares during the period. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB raised its position in shares of American Express by 293.0% in the third quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 31,428 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $8,523,000 after purchasing an additional 23,432 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently commented on AXP shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of American Express from $244.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday. HSBC upped their price target on American Express from $270.00 to $294.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Robert W. Baird upgraded shares of American Express from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $265.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Friday, March 14th. Compass Point cut their target price on shares of American Express from $325.00 to $309.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Finally, William Blair restated an “outperform” rating on shares of American Express in a research report on Monday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have given a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, American Express presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $297.16.

American Express Stock Up 4.2 %

NYSE AXP opened at $252.69 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $177.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.16. American Express has a 52 week low of $220.43 and a 52 week high of $326.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64, a quick ratio of 1.57 and a current ratio of 1.58. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $270.50 and a 200-day moving average of $287.37.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last announced 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 return on equity of 32.65% and a net margin of 15.36%. The firm had revenue of $16.97 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $17.04 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $3.33 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that American Express will post 15.33 EPS for the current year.

American Express Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Investors of record on Friday, April 4th will be issued a $0.82 dividend. This is a positive change from American Express’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. This represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.30%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 4th. American Express’s dividend payout ratio is currently 22.91%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other American Express news, insider Ravikumar Radhakrishnan sold 9,485 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $319.17, for a total value of $3,027,327.45. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 13,500 shares in the company, 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 document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Michael J. Angelakis acquired 3,700 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 owns 3,700 shares in the company, valued at $998,593. This represents a ? increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Company insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

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.