Sumitomo Life Insurance Co. Sells 3,171 Shares of American Express Company $AXP

Sumitomo Life Insurance Co. lowered its position in shares of American Express Company (NYSE:AXP) by 16.9% during the second quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 15,539 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 3,171 shares during the quarter. Sumitomo Life Insurance Co.’s holdings in American Express were worth $4,957,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in AXP. Nuveen LLC bought a new position in shares of American Express during the first quarter worth approximately $1,454,667,000. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its stake in American Express by 13.7% during the 1st quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 18,025,562 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $4,849,777,000 after acquiring an additional 2,168,445 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its stake in American Express by 25.5% during 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 acquiring an additional 965,221 shares during the period. Provident Trust Co. increased its stake in American Express by 136.6% during the 2nd quarter. Provident Trust Co. now owns 1,108,971 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $353,740,000 after acquiring an additional 640,214 shares during the period. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in American Express by 1.3% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 45,843,893 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $12,334,299,000 after acquiring an additional 605,900 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

American Express Trading Up 0.5%

Shares of AXP opened at $360.70 on Friday. American Express Company has a 52-week low of $220.43 and a 52-week high of $365.75. The business’s fifty day moving average is $335.65 and its 200-day moving average is $310.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.78, a quick ratio of 1.59 and a current ratio of 1.61. The firm has a market cap of $248.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.21, a PEG ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 1.29.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, October 17th. The payment services company reported $4.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.98 by $0.16. American Express had a return on equity of 33.41% and a net margin of 14.97%.The company had revenue of $18.43 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $18.03 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $3.49 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.0% compared to the same quarter last year. American Express has set its FY 2025 guidance at 15.200-15.500 EPS. Equities 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 will be paid on Monday, November 10th. Investors of record on Friday, October 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.82 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 10th. This represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.9%. American Express’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 22.01%.

Insider Activity at American Express

In related news, Vice Chairman Douglas E. Buckminster sold 23,505 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $326.37, for a total transaction of $7,671,326.85. Following the sale, the insider owned 123,613 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $40,343,574.81. This trade represents a 15.98% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Denise Pickett sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $350.73, for a total value of $1,753,650.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 7,726 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,709,739.98. This trade represents a 39.29% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 222,011 shares of company stock worth $70,725,044 over the last 90 days. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AXP has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on American Express from $375.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 20th. BTIG Research raised their price objective on American Express from $277.00 to $307.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday, October 17th. Compass Point restated a “neutral” rating and set a $324.00 price objective on shares of American Express in a research note on Monday, October 20th. Barclays raised their price objective on American Express from $336.00 to $355.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 20th. Finally, DZ Bank upgraded American Express from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $340.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, October 21st. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fourteen have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $332.65.

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.