Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp Has $95.12 Million Position in American Express Company (NYSE:AXP)

Key Points

• Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp increased its stake in American Express by 4.1%, now holding 353,533 shares worth approximately $95.12 million.
• Analysts have mixed views on American Express, with price targets ranging from $260 to $342, and a consensus rating of "Hold".
• Insider transactions revealed significant stock sales, including a sale of 50,000 shares by insider Glenda G. Mcneal, reducing her position significantly.

Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp raised its holdings in shares of American Express Company (NYSE:AXP - Free Report) by 4.1% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 353,533 shares of the payment services company's stock after buying an additional 13,950 shares during the period. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp owned about 0.05% of American Express worth $95,118,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of AXP. Brighton Jones LLC raised its stake in shares of American Express by 24.4% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 6,481 shares of the payment services company's stock valued at $1,924,000 after purchasing an additional 1,273 shares during the period. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG increased its stake in American Express by 24.9% during the fourth 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 holdings in shares of American Express by 2.7% during the fourth quarter. GHE LLC now owns 17,021 shares of the payment services company's stock valued at $5,052,000 after acquiring an additional 447 shares during the period. Nicolet Advisory Services LLC lifted its holdings in American Express by 5.1% in the fourth quarter. Nicolet Advisory Services LLC now owns 1,743 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $511,000 after purchasing an additional 85 shares during the period. Finally, World Investment Advisors lifted its holdings in American Express by 27.1% in the fourth quarter. World Investment Advisors now owns 6,057 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $1,797,000 after purchasing an additional 1,292 shares during the period. 84.33% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

American Express Price Performance

Shares of AXP stock traded up $4.27 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $298.54. 1,875,945 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,627,181. 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 52 week low of $220.43 and a 52 week high of $329.14. The stock has a market cap of $207.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 1.28. The stock's 50-day moving average is $306.17 and its 200-day moving average is $291.20.

American Express (NYSE:AXP - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Friday, July 18th. The payment services company reported $4.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.86 by $0.22. American Express had a return on equity of 32.87% and a net margin of 14.78%. The firm had revenue of $17.86 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $17.70 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $3.49 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 9.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts forecast that American Express Company will post 15.33 EPS for the current year.

American Express Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Activity at American Express

In related news, insider Glenda G. Mcneal sold 50,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $309.50, for a total transaction of $15,475,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 10,957 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,391,191.50. The trade was a 82.03% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Howard Grosfield sold 9,450 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the insider owned 9,402 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,590,251. This trade represents a 50.13% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 64,950 shares of company stock valued at $19,787,710. 0.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have weighed in on AXP. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of American Express in a report on Monday, July 14th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price target on shares of American Express from $371.00 to $375.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, July 21st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on shares of American Express from $360.00 to $371.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Truist Financial upped their price target on shares of American Express from $335.00 to $340.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Finally, Citigroup reissued a "neutral" rating and issued a $327.00 price target (up from $300.00) on shares of American Express in a report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Two 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, American Express has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $311.05.

American Express Company 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.