Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. Reduces Stake in American Express Company (NYSE:AXP)

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. lowered its position in American Express Company (NYSE:AXP) by 5.2% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,581,467 shares of the payment services company's stock after selling 86,280 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. owned approximately 0.23% of American Express worth $425,494,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Trillium Asset Management LLC raised its stake in American Express by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. Trillium Asset Management LLC now owns 2,449 shares of the payment services company's stock valued at $727,000 after buying an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. Zions Bancorporation N.A. raised its stake in American Express by 2.4% during the fourth quarter. Zions Bancorporation N.A. now owns 1,510 shares of the payment services company's stock valued at $448,000 after buying an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. Arista Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in American Express by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. Arista Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,275 shares of the payment services company's stock valued at $675,000 after buying an additional 37 shares in the last quarter. Kovack Advisors Inc. raised its stake in American Express by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. Kovack Advisors Inc. now owns 3,359 shares of the payment services company's stock valued at $997,000 after buying an additional 38 shares in the last quarter. Finally, PDS Planning Inc raised its stake in American Express by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. PDS Planning Inc now owns 2,967 shares of the payment services company's stock valued at $880,000 after buying an additional 38 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.33% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Glenda G. Mcneal sold 3,019 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $264.66, for a total transaction of $799,008.54. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 10,919 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,889,822.54. This trade represents a 21.66% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Howard Grosfield sold 9,450 shares of American Express stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $275.50, for a total transaction of $2,603,475.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 9,402 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,590,251. This trade represents a 50.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.20% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Bank of America upgraded American Express from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $325.00 to $274.00 in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Truist Financial increased their price target on American Express from $315.00 to $335.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, May 23rd. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $310.00 price target on shares of American Express in a research report on Monday, April 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on American Express from $244.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, April 21st. Finally, Baird R W upgraded American Express from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, March 14th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have given a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $296.05.

American Express Stock Performance

AXP opened at $317.48 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $222.43 billion, a PE ratio of 22.17, a P/E/G ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 1.25. The company has a quick ratio of 1.57, a current ratio of 1.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $288.89 and a 200-day simple moving average of $289.05. American Express Company has a fifty-two week low of $220.43 and a fifty-two week high of $326.28.

American Express (NYSE:AXP - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 17th. The payment services company reported $3.64 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.47 by $0.17. The business had revenue of $16.97 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $17.04 billion. American Express had a return on equity of 32.48% and a net margin of 15.31%. During the same period last year, the company posted $3.33 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that American Express Company will post 15.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Express Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 8th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 3rd will be issued a $0.82 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 3rd. This represents a $3.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.03%. American Express's payout ratio is currently 22.91%.

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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