Asahi Life Asset Management CO. LTD. Boosts Stock Position in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Asahi Life Asset Management CO. LTD. lifted its position in American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 20.7% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 10,553 shares of the payment services company’s stock after buying an additional 1,813 shares during the quarter. American Express makes up 1.7% of Asahi Life Asset Management CO. LTD.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 15th largest holding. Asahi Life Asset Management CO. LTD.’s holdings in American Express were worth $2,862,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. DHJJ Financial Advisors Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of American Express by 42.2% in the 2nd quarter. DHJJ Financial Advisors Ltd. now owns 165 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 49 shares during the period. BNP Paribas purchased a new stake in shares of American Express in the 1st quarter valued at $40,000. POM Investment Strategies LLC purchased a new stake in shares of American Express in the 2nd quarter valued at $42,000. Founders Capital Management purchased a new stake in shares of American Express in the 2nd quarter valued at $46,000. Finally, Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of American Express in the 3rd quarter valued at $46,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded American Express from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $268.00 to $286.00 in a report on Monday, October 7th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on American Express from $285.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, September 30th. TD Cowen upped their price target on American Express from $260.00 to $268.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on American Express from $225.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 9th. Finally, Hsbc Global Res downgraded American Express from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $253.09.

Insider Transactions at American Express

In other news, insider Anre D. Williams sold 77,887 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 22nd. The stock was 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 directly owns 111,656 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $30,176,150.56. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

American Express Stock Performance

American Express stock traded up $2.71 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $270.06. 466,029 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,921,206. American Express has a twelve month low of $141.73 and a twelve month high of $286.36. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $263.88 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $245.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74, a quick ratio of 1.66 and a current ratio of 1.66. The firm has a market cap of $194.25 billion, a PE ratio of 22.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 1.21.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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. American Express had a return on equity of 32.94% and a net margin of 15.53%. The company had revenue of $16.64 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.68 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $3.30 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.2% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts predict that American Express will post 13.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Express Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 8th. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 4th will be paid a dividend of $0.70 per share. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.04%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 4th. American Express’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 23.06%.

American Express 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.