AIA Group Ltd Invests $2.58 Million in American Express Company (NYSE:AXP)

Key Points

• AIA Group Ltd acquired a new stake in American Express, purchasing 9,600 shares valued at approximately $2.58 million in the first quarter.
• American Express reported earnings of $4.08 per share, surpassing analyst expectations, with revenues also exceeding estimates at $17.86 billion.
• The company's recent quarterly dividend of $0.82 reflects a 1.1% yield and a 23.02% payout ratio based on earnings.

AIA Group Ltd purchased a new position in American Express Company (NYSE:AXP - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 9,600 shares of the payment services company's stock, valued at approximately $2,583,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in AXP. Brighton Jones LLC grew its stake in shares of American Express by 24.4% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 6,481 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $1,924,000 after buying an additional 1,273 shares during the last quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG boosted its stake in American Express by 24.9% during the 4th quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG now owns 2,633 shares of the payment services company's stock valued at $781,000 after purchasing an additional 525 shares during the last quarter. GHE LLC boosted its stake in American Express by 2.7% during the 4th quarter. GHE LLC now owns 17,021 shares of the payment services company's stock valued at $5,052,000 after purchasing an additional 447 shares during the last quarter. FIL Ltd boosted its stake in American Express by 16.0% during the 4th quarter. FIL Ltd now owns 1,280 shares of the payment services company's stock valued at $380,000 after purchasing an additional 177 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Advisors Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in American Express by 4.0% during the 4th quarter. Advisors Capital Management LLC now owns 4,601 shares of the payment services company's stock valued at $1,366,000 after purchasing an additional 175 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.33% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have commented on AXP shares. William Blair reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of American Express in a research note on Wednesday, July 2nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on American Express from $360.00 to $371.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. Monness Crespi & Hardt cut American Express from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. Redburn Atlantic raised 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. Finally, DZ Bank lowered American Express from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Monday, July 21st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have issued a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $311.05.

American Express Stock Performance

NYSE:AXP traded down $2.37 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $305.36. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,706,516 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,939,582. American Express Company has a 1 year low of $220.43 and a 1 year high of $329.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80, a current ratio of 1.61 and a quick ratio of 1.60. The stock has a market cap of $212.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.43, a PEG ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 1.28. The business's fifty day moving average is $307.17 and its two-hundred day moving average is $290.42.

American Express (NYSE:AXP - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, July 18th. The payment services company reported $4.08 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.86 by $0.22. The company had revenue of $17.86 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $17.70 billion. American Express had a net margin of 14.78% and a return on equity of 32.87%. The firm's revenue was up 9.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $3.49 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that American Express Company will post 15.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Express Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 8th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 3rd were given a $0.82 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, July 3rd. This represents a $3.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.1%. American Express's dividend payout ratio is 23.02%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other American Express news, insider Anna Marrs sold 5,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $310.77, for a total value of $1,709,235.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 20,311 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,312,049.47. This represents a 21.31% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Laureen Seeger sold 61,721 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $297.47, for a total transaction of $18,360,145.87. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 9,001 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,677,527.47. This trade represents a 87.27% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 134,219 shares of company stock worth $40,555,901. Company insiders own 0.20% of the company's stock.

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.