Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd Grows Holdings in American Express Company $AXP

Key Points

• Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd increased its holdings in American Express by 4.6% during the 2nd quarter, now owning 347,147 shares valued at approximately $110.73 million.
• American Express reported an earnings per share (EPS) of $4.08 for the quarter, exceeding analyst expectations of $3.86 and showing 9.3% revenue growth year-over-year.
• Insider selling included Vice Chairman Douglas E. Buckminster, who sold 23,505 shares at around $326.37, reflecting a 15.98% decrease in their ownership of the stock.

Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd grew its position in shares of American Express Company (NYSE:AXP - Free Report) by 4.6% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 347,147 shares of the payment services company's stock after purchasing an additional 15,298 shares during the quarter. American Express makes up about 1.0% of Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd's investment portfolio, making the stock its 16th largest position. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd's holdings in American Express were worth $110,733,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Nuveen LLC bought a new position in American Express during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $1,454,667,000. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its holdings in shares of 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 in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in shares of American Express by 27,625.2% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,162,846 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $581,914,000 after purchasing an additional 2,155,045 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its stake 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 worth $1,278,711,000 after purchasing an additional 965,221 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH purchased a new stake in American Express during the 4th quarter valued at about $187,337,000. 84.33% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

American Express Price Performance

Shares of American Express stock opened at $335.87 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80, a quick ratio of 1.60 and a current ratio of 1.61. American Express Company has a one year low of $220.43 and a one year high of $337.50. The stock has a market cap of $233.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 1.28. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $313.93 and a 200-day moving average price of $292.62.

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

Insider Buying and Selling at American Express

In related news, Vice Chairman Douglas E. Buckminster sold 23,505 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $326.37, for a total value of $7,671,326.85. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 123,613 shares of the company's stock, valued at $40,343,574.81. The trade was a 15.98% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Anna Marrs sold 5,500 shares of American Express stock in a transaction on 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 $6,312,049.47. This represents a 21.31% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 269,996 shares of company stock valued at $85,261,270. 0.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AXP has been the subject of several analyst reports. Monness Crespi & Hardt downgraded shares of American Express from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th. William Blair restated an "outperform" rating on shares of American Express in a research note on Wednesday, July 2nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on American Express from $360.00 to $371.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. Citigroup restated a "neutral" rating and set a $327.00 target price (up previously from $300.00) on shares of American Express in a research note on Wednesday, July 2nd. Finally, Truist Financial increased their price objective on shares of American Express from $348.00 to $375.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fifteen have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, American Express presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $315.20.

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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