Sompo Asset Management Co. Ltd. Has $1.05 Million Stock Holdings in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Sompo Asset Management Co. Ltd. decreased its holdings in American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 9.4% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 3,860 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 400 shares during the period. Sompo Asset Management Co. Ltd.’s holdings in American Express were worth $1,047,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Sovereign Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in American Express by 2.7% during the 3rd quarter. Sovereign Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,467 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $398,000 after acquiring an additional 38 shares during the last quarter. Legacy Financial Strategies LLC lifted its position in shares of American Express by 2.5% during the third quarter. Legacy Financial Strategies LLC now owns 1,632 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $443,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares in the last quarter. Concord Wealth Partners boosted its holdings in American Express by 10.5% during the third quarter. Concord Wealth Partners now owns 422 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $114,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares during the last quarter. Sawgrass Asset Management LLC grew its position in American Express by 0.4% in the 2nd quarter. Sawgrass Asset Management LLC now owns 10,384 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $2,404,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Godsey & Gibb Inc. increased its stake in American Express by 3.5% in the 3rd quarter. Godsey & Gibb Inc. now owns 1,227 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $333,000 after buying an additional 41 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at American Express

In other news, insider Anre D. Williams sold 77,887 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the insider now owns 111,656 shares in the company, valued at approximately $30,176,150.56. This trade represents a 41.09 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Vice Chairman Douglas E. Buckminster sold 13,111 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $270.98, for a total transaction of $3,552,818.78. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 109,691 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $29,724,067.18. This trade represents a 10.68 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

American Express Stock Performance

Shares of AXP opened at $301.30 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80, a quick ratio of 1.63 and a current ratio of 1.63. The stock has a market capitalization of $212.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.68 and a beta of 1.21. American Express has a 52-week low of $163.32 and a 52-week high of $301.92. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $276.08 and its 200 day simple moving average is $253.23.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, October 18th. The payment services company reported $3.49 earnings per share (EPS) 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 the consensus estimate of $16.68 billion. American Express had a net margin of 15.32% and a return on equity of 32.46%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $3.30 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that American Express will post 13.4 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Express Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 8th. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 4th were given a dividend of $0.70 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, October 4th. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.93%. American Express’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 20.60%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AXP has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Hsbc Global Res lowered American Express from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on American Express from $248.00 to $252.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered American Express from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and raised their target price for the company from $268.00 to $286.00 in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of American Express from $285.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, September 30th. Finally, 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 report on Tuesday, September 17th. Four investment 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 MarketBeat.com, American Express currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $253.09.

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.