Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. Buys 480 Shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its stake in American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 3.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 13,778 shares of the payment services company’s stock after acquiring an additional 480 shares during the quarter. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd.’s holdings in American Express were worth $2,581,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Carret Asset Management LLC grew its position in American Express by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Carret Asset Management LLC now owns 58,124 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $10,889,000 after buying an additional 289 shares during the period. Wynn Capital LLC bought a new stake in American Express during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $2,682,000. Bfsg LLC grew its position in American Express by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. Bfsg LLC now owns 21,124 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $3,957,000 after buying an additional 301 shares during the period. Fountainhead AM LLC bought a new stake in American Express during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $224,000. Finally, Millington Financial Advisors LLC bought a new stake in American Express during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $511,000. 84.33% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at American Express

In other American Express news, CEO Stephen J. Squeri sold 69,356 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 122,158 shares in the company, valued at approximately $26,022,097.16. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, insider Laureen Seeger sold 84,420 shares of American Express stock in a transaction on Monday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $212.98, for a total transaction of $17,979,771.60. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 57,512 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,248,905.76. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Stephen J. Squeri sold 69,356 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $26,022,097.16. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 172,047 shares of company stock valued at $36,528,388. 0.12% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have weighed in on AXP shares. Barclays reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and set a $221.00 price target (up previously from $220.00) on shares of American Express in a report on Tuesday, April 9th. HSBC lifted their price target on shares of American Express from $232.00 to $239.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. TD Cowen lifted their price target on shares of American Express from $221.00 to $225.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Monday. Oppenheimer reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of American Express in a report on Friday, April 5th. Finally, Stephens raised shares of American Express from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $148.00 to $193.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 2nd. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, American Express presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $209.52.

American Express Stock Performance

NYSE:AXP traded down $1.44 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $237.68. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,527,798 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,173,280. American Express has a fifty-two week low of $140.91 and a fifty-two week high of $240.55. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $221.62 and its 200-day moving average is $190.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.70, a current ratio of 1.62 and a quick ratio of 1.63. The firm has a market cap of $170.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.71, a P/E/G ratio of 1.36 and a beta of 1.23.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 19th. The payment services company reported $3.33 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.97 by $0.36. The business had revenue of $15.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $15.79 billion. American Express had a net margin of 14.50% and a return on equity of 32.46%. The business’s revenue was up 10.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.40 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that American Express will post 12.98 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Express Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 10th. Investors of record on Friday, April 5th will be paid a $0.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 4th. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.17%. American Express’s dividend payout ratio is currently 23.06%.

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.