American Express (NYSE:AXP) Shares Bought by Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd.

Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. increased its stake in American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 11.0% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 47,862 shares of the payment services company’s stock after acquiring an additional 4,739 shares during the period. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd.’s holdings in American Express were worth $14,205,000 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. Eagle Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in American Express by 30.6% during the third quarter. Eagle Asset Management Inc. now owns 7,049 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $2,027,000 after acquiring an additional 1,651 shares during the period. Nwam LLC bought a new stake in American Express during the third quarter worth approximately $352,000. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of American Express by 6.9% in the third quarter. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. now owns 3,003 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $815,000 after buying an additional 194 shares in the last quarter. Swedbank AB lifted its position in shares of American Express by 1.4% during the 3rd quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 408,679 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $110,834,000 after acquiring an additional 5,827 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Larson Financial Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of American Express by 32.6% during the 3rd quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 3,620 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $982,000 after acquiring an additional 890 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at American Express

In other news, insider Ravikumar Radhakrishnan sold 9,485 shares of American Express stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $319.17, for a total transaction of $3,027,327.45. Following the sale, the insider now owns 13,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,308,795. This trade represents a 41.27 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Michael J. Angelakis bought 3,700 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 7th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $269.89 per share, with a total value of $998,593.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 3,700 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $998,593. This represents a ? increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

American Express Stock Performance

Shares of AXP opened at $277.98 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $195.29 billion, a PE ratio of 19.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64, a current ratio of 1.58 and a quick ratio of 1.57. American Express has a one year low of $214.51 and a one year high of $326.28. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $297.92 and its 200 day moving average price is $288.99.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 24th. The payment services company reported $3.04 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.00 by $0.04. American Express had a return on equity of 32.65% and a net margin of 15.36%. As a group, analysts expect that American Express will post 15.33 earnings per share for the current year.

American Express Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Investors of record on Friday, April 4th will be given a dividend of $0.82 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 4th. This represents a $3.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.18%. This is a positive change from American Express’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. American Express’s payout ratio is 23.41%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on AXP shares. Bank of America reduced their target price on American Express from $326.00 to $325.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on shares of American Express from $350.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of American Express from $355.00 to $370.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. William Blair reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of American Express in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their target price on American Express from $367.00 to $330.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have given a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $302.57.

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.