Daiwa Securities Group Inc. Grows Holdings in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Daiwa Securities Group Inc. raised its stake in American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 7.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 135,483 shares of the payment services company’s stock after purchasing an additional 9,224 shares during the period. Daiwa Securities Group Inc.’s holdings in American Express were worth $25,382,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of American Express by 118,198.3% during the fourth quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 13,732,068 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $2,028,913,000 after acquiring an additional 13,720,460 shares during the last quarter. Morgan Stanley boosted its position in shares of American Express by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 12,503,902 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $1,847,452,000 after buying an additional 35,760 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp grew its holdings in American Express by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 6,953,460 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $1,037,387,000 after buying an additional 41,443 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in American Express in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $911,554,000. Finally, Lazard Asset Management LLC raised its stake in American Express by 7.5% during the 4th quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 5,802,341 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $857,293,000 after acquiring an additional 405,975 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at American Express

In other American Express news, CEO Stephen J. Squeri sold 69,356 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $213.02, for a total transaction of $14,774,215.12. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 122,158 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $26,022,097.16. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other news, CEO Stephen J. Squeri sold 69,356 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $213.02, for a total transaction of $14,774,215.12. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 122,158 shares in the company, valued at approximately $26,022,097.16. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Howard Grosfield sold 7,029 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $203.65, for a total value of $1,431,455.85. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 12,388 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,522,816.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 172,047 shares of company stock worth $36,528,388. Corporate insiders own 0.11% of the company’s stock.

American Express Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:AXP traded down $0.72 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $217.62. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 2,256,405 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,064,562. American Express has a fifty-two week low of $140.91 and a fifty-two week high of $231.69. The company has a market capitalization of $157.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.48, a P/E/G ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 1.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.71, a current ratio of 1.63 and a quick ratio of 1.63. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $219.38 and its 200-day simple moving average is $187.37.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 26th. The payment services company reported $2.62 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.64 by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $15.80 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16 billion. American Express had a net margin of 13.84% and a return on equity of 30.99%. American Express’s revenue was up 11.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.07 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that American Express will post 12.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Express Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 5th will be issued a dividend of $0.10 per share. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.18%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 4th. American Express’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 24.98%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently issued reports on AXP. Oppenheimer reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of American Express in a research note on Friday, April 5th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft started coverage on shares of American Express in a research note on Wednesday, January 10th. They set a “buy” rating and a $235.00 target price on the stock. DZ Bank lowered shares of American Express from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 4th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of American Express from $220.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on American Express from $157.00 to $159.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research report on Monday, January 29th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, American Express has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $201.62.

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.