Nissay Asset Management Corp Japan ADV Has $20.98 Million Position in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Nissay Asset Management Corp Japan ADV reduced its stake in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 1.6% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 69,693 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 1,138 shares during the quarter. Nissay Asset Management Corp Japan ADV’s holdings in American Express were worth $20,981,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Nearwater Capital Markets Ltd bought a new position in American Express during the 4th quarter valued at about $50,454,000. NorthRock Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of American Express by 376.9% in the 4th quarter. NorthRock Partners LLC now owns 16,793 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $4,984,000 after acquiring an additional 13,272 shares in the last quarter. Northeast Financial Consultants Inc boosted its holdings in shares of American Express by 94.6% in the 4th quarter. Northeast Financial Consultants Inc now owns 1,646 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $489,000 after acquiring an additional 800 shares in the last quarter. Northwest Quadrant Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of American Express by 35.7% in the 4th quarter. Northwest Quadrant Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,038 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $308,000 after acquiring an additional 273 shares in the last quarter. Finally, OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp grew its holdings in shares of American Express by 20.5% during the fourth quarter. OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp now owns 25,463 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $7,557,000 after purchasing an additional 4,324 shares during the last quarter. 84.33% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at American Express

In other American Express news, insider Howard Grosfield sold 9,450 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $275.50, for a total value of $2,603,475.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 9,402 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,590,251. The trade was a 50.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Michael J. Angelakis bought 3,700 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 7th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $269.89 per share, with a total value of $998,593.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 3,700 shares in the company, valued at $998,593. This represents a ∞ increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

American Express Trading Up 1.1%

NYSE AXP opened at $302.28 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $211.77 billion, a PE ratio of 21.58, a P/E/G ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.23. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $264.02 and a 200 day simple moving average of $287.55. The company has a current ratio of 1.58, a quick ratio of 1.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64. American Express has a 12 month low of $220.43 and a 12 month high of $326.28.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 17th. The payment services company reported $3.64 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.47 by $0.17. The business had revenue of $16.97 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $17.04 billion. American Express had a net margin of 15.36% and a return on equity of 32.65%. During the same period last year, the company posted $3.33 EPS. Research analysts forecast that American Express will post 15.33 EPS for the current year.

American Express Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 9th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 4th were given a dividend of $0.82 per share. This represents a $3.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.09%. This is a boost from American Express’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. The ex-dividend date was Friday, April 4th. American Express’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 22.91%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently commented on AXP shares. Redburn Atlantic upgraded American Express from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $270.00 to $255.00 in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Argus cut shares of American Express from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, March 14th. Bank of America upgraded shares of American Express from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $325.00 to $274.00 in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of American Express from $305.00 to $310.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Monness Crespi & Hardt boosted their price objective on shares of American Express from $275.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, April 21st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have assigned a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, American Express currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $295.05.

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.