American Express (NYSE:AXP) Holdings Increased by Daiwa Securities Group Inc.

Daiwa Securities Group Inc. increased its stake in American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 7.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 135,483 shares of the payment services company’s stock after acquiring an additional 9,224 shares during the period. Daiwa Securities Group Inc.’s holdings in American Express were worth $25,382,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Tyler Stone Wealth Management acquired a new stake in American Express during the 2nd quarter worth about $27,000. BKM Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of American Express during the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. Tennessee Valley Asset Management Partners bought a new position in American Express during the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. BluePath Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of American Express in the third quarter valued at $29,000. Finally, Pacifica Partners Inc. bought a new position in shares of American Express during the 4th quarter worth about $29,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Stephen J. Squeri sold 69,356 shares of American Express stock in a transaction on 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 owns 122,158 shares in the company, valued at $26,022,097.16. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, CEO Stephen J. Squeri sold 69,356 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $213.02, for a total value of $14,774,215.12. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 122,158 shares in the company, valued at $26,022,097.16. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Monique Herena sold 11,242 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $208.41, for a total transaction of $2,342,945.22. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 13,874 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,891,480.34. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 172,047 shares of company stock valued at $36,528,388 in the last ninety days. 0.11% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

American Express Price Performance

Shares of American Express stock traded down $0.72 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $217.62. 2,256,405 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,064,562. The stock has a market cap of $157.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.48, a PEG ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 1.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.71, a quick ratio of 1.63 and a current ratio of 1.63. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $219.38 and its 200-day moving average price is $187.37. American Express has a 12 month low of $140.91 and a 12 month high of $231.69.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last announced 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 company had revenue of $15.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16 billion. American Express had a return on equity of 30.99% and a net margin of 13.84%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 11.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.07 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that American Express will post 12.83 earnings per share for the current year.

American Express Cuts Dividend

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AXP has been the subject of several analyst reports. Monness Crespi & Hardt raised shares of American Express from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $245.00 price target for the company in a report on Friday, April 5th. HSBC raised their price objective on shares of American Express from $232.00 to $239.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Morgan Stanley downgraded shares of American Express from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and increased their price target for the company from $212.00 to $222.00 in a research report on Thursday, February 8th. StockNews.com lowered American Express from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday. Finally, DZ Bank cut shares of American Express from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Thursday, January 4th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, American Express currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target 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.