Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. Acquires 86,705 Shares of American Express Company $AXP

Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its holdings in American Express Company (NYSE:AXP) by 6.2% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,477,330 shares of the payment services company’s stock after acquiring an additional 86,705 shares during the period. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd.’s holdings in American Express were worth $471,239,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Nuveen LLC acquired a new position in shares of American Express during the first quarter valued at about $1,454,667,000. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its stake in American Express by 13.7% during the first quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 18,025,562 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $4,849,777,000 after acquiring an additional 2,168,445 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its holdings in American Express by 25.5% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 4,752,690 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $1,278,711,000 after acquiring an additional 965,221 shares in the last quarter. Provident Trust Co. lifted its position in shares of American Express by 136.6% in the 2nd quarter. Provident Trust Co. now owns 1,108,971 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $353,740,000 after acquiring an additional 640,214 shares during the period. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of American Express by 1.3% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 45,843,893 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $12,334,299,000 after purchasing an additional 605,900 shares in the last quarter. 84.33% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Denise Pickett sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $350.73, for a total value of $1,753,650.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 7,726 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,709,739.98. The trade was a 39.29% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Stephen J. Squeri sold 112,272 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $329.86, for a total value of $37,034,041.92. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 92,810 shares in the company, valued at approximately $30,614,306.60. This trade represents a 54.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 193,292 shares of company stock valued at $65,363,878. 0.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. BTIG Research lifted their price target on shares of American Express from $277.00 to $307.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday, October 17th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of American Express from $375.00 to $400.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 20th. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of American Express from $330.00 to $340.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 7th. HSBC set a $295.00 price target on shares of American Express and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, October 10th. Finally, DZ Bank upgraded American Express from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $340.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, October 21st. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $332.65.

American Express Trading Up 0.9%

Shares of AXP opened at $368.90 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.78, a quick ratio of 1.59 and a current ratio of 1.61. The company has a market cap of $254.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.76, a PEG ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 1.27. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $339.73 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $313.93. American Express Company has a 52-week low of $220.43 and a 52-week high of $370.00.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, October 17th. The payment services company reported $4.14 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.98 by $0.16. The firm had revenue of $18.43 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $18.03 billion. American Express had a return on equity of 33.41% and a net margin of 14.97%.The company’s revenue was up 11.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $3.49 earnings per share. American Express has set its FY 2025 guidance at 15.200-15.500 EPS. Analysts predict that American Express Company will post 15.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Express Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 10th will be paid a $0.82 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 10th. This represents a $3.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.9%. American Express’s payout ratio is presently 22.01%.

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.