Sompo Asset Management Co. Ltd. Sells 400 Shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Sompo Asset Management Co. Ltd. decreased its holdings in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 9.4% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F 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 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in AXP. Prospera Private Wealth LLC acquired a new position in American Express in the third quarter valued at about $27,000. Kennebec Savings Bank bought a new stake in shares of American Express in the 3rd quarter valued at about $29,000. DHJJ Financial Advisors Ltd. raised its position 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 acquiring an additional 49 shares during the period. POM Investment Strategies LLC bought a new position in American Express during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $42,000. Finally, Founders Capital Management acquired a new position in American Express during the second quarter valued at approximately $46,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

American Express Trading Up 2.8 %

AXP stock opened at $301.30 on Friday. American Express has a one year low of $163.32 and a one year high of $301.92. The stock has a market cap 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. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $276.08 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $253.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80, a current ratio of 1.63 and a quick ratio of 1.63.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, October 18th. The payment services company reported $3.49 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.27 by $0.22. The business 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 quarter in the prior year, the business earned $3.30 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that American Express will post 13.4 EPS for the current year.

American Express Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Activity at American Express

In other American Express news, insider Anre D. Williams sold 77,887 shares of American Express stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $270.26, for a total value 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 $30,176,150.56. The trade was a 41.09 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Vice Chairman Douglas E. Buckminster sold 13,111 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $270.98, for a total value of $3,552,818.78. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 109,691 shares in the company, valued at $29,724,067.18. The trade was a 10.68 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.12% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AXP has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Hsbc Global Res cut shares of American Express from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on American Express from $285.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, September 30th. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on American Express from $275.00 to $290.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research note on Monday, October 7th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on American Express from $248.00 to $252.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Finally, Barclays boosted their price objective on American Express from $250.00 to $257.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, American Express presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $253.09.

About American Express

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.