American Express Company (NYSE:AXP) Shares Acquired by Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd.

Key Points

• Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management increased its stake in American Express by 10.5%, owning 1,390,625 shares valued at approximately $374 million as of the latest reporting period.
• American Express reported $4.08 earnings per share for the last quarter, surpassing the consensus estimate of $3.86, along with revenue of $17.86 billion.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.82, set to be paid on August 8th, which provides an annualized yield of 1.1%.

Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in American Express Company (NYSE:AXP - Free Report) by 10.5% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,390,625 shares of the payment services company's stock after acquiring an additional 131,995 shares during the period. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. owned 0.20% of American Express worth $374,148,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AXP. CenterBook Partners LP lifted its stake in shares of American Express by 14.5% in the 1st quarter. CenterBook Partners LP now owns 23,920 shares of the payment services company's stock valued at $6,436,000 after purchasing an additional 3,025 shares during the last quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC acquired a new position in American Express in the first quarter valued at about $641,000. Deutsche Bank AG lifted its position in American Express by 7.4% in the first quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 2,897,024 shares of the payment services company's stock valued at $779,444,000 after buying an additional 198,392 shares during the last quarter. Foster Dykema Cabot & Partners LLC boosted its stake in American Express by 1.8% during the first quarter. Foster Dykema Cabot & Partners LLC now owns 116,223 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $31,270,000 after buying an additional 2,060 shares during the period. Finally, Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC increased its position in shares of American Express by 7.3% during the first quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC now owns 5,011 shares of the payment services company's stock valued at $1,384,000 after acquiring an additional 340 shares during the last quarter. 84.33% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

American Express Price Performance

Shares of AXP opened at $295.46 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80, a current ratio of 1.61 and a quick ratio of 1.60. American Express Company has a 1-year low of $220.43 and a 1-year high of $329.14. The stock has a market cap of $205.60 billion, a PE ratio of 20.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.28. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $306.53 and a 200 day moving average price of $291.17.

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

American Express Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 8th. Investors of record on Thursday, July 3rd will be given a $0.82 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 3rd. This represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.1%. American Express's dividend payout ratio is 23.02%.

Insider Buying and Selling at American Express

In other American Express news, insider Anna Marrs sold 5,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $310.77, for a total transaction of $1,709,235.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 20,311 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,312,049.47. This trade represents a 21.31% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Glenda G. Mcneal sold 50,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $309.50, for a total transaction of $15,475,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 10,957 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,391,191.50. The trade was a 82.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently weighed in on AXP. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of American Express from $260.00 to $342.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, July 11th. DZ Bank lowered American Express from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Monday, July 21st. William Blair restated an "outperform" rating on shares of American Express in a report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Truist Financial boosted their price target on shares of American Express from $335.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. Finally, Citigroup reissued a "neutral" rating and issued a $327.00 price objective (up previously from $300.00) on shares of American Express in a research note on Wednesday, July 2nd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have issued a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, American Express currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $311.05.

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.

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