AMF Tjanstepension AB Increases Stock Holdings in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

AMF Tjanstepension AB increased its stake in American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 5.3% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 369,741 shares of the payment services company’s stock after buying an additional 18,510 shares during the quarter. AMF Tjanstepension AB owned about 0.05% of American Express worth $84,206,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of AXP. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of American Express during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,112,747,000. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership lifted its position in shares of American Express by 11.4% during the fourth quarter. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership now owns 4,855,211 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $909,575,000 after purchasing an additional 496,153 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of American Express by 21.1% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,839,276 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $713,202,000 after purchasing an additional 667,695 shares during the period. TD Asset Management Inc grew its holdings in shares of American Express by 62.1% in the fourth quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 2,399,494 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $449,521,000 after purchasing an additional 919,337 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Beutel Goodman & Co Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of American Express by 7.4% in the fourth quarter. Beutel Goodman & Co Ltd. now owns 2,067,858 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $387,392,000 after purchasing an additional 142,763 shares during the last quarter. 84.33% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

American Express Stock Performance

NYSE:AXP traded up $3.26 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $231.66. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 3,901,131 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,057,715. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.70, a current ratio of 1.62 and a quick ratio of 1.62. American Express has a fifty-two week low of $140.91 and a fifty-two week high of $244.41. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $234.69 and its 200-day moving average is $215.79. The firm has a market cap of $166.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.08, a P/E/G ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 1.22.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last announced its earnings results on Friday, April 19th. The payment services company reported $3.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.97 by $0.36. The firm had revenue of $15.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.79 billion. American Express had a return on equity of 32.46% and a net margin of 14.50%. The business’s revenue was up 10.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.40 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that American Express will post 13 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Express Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 9th. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 5th will be issued a dividend of $0.70 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, July 5th. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.21%. This is a boost from American Express’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.10. American Express’s dividend payout ratio is presently 23.06%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have issued reports on AXP. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price objective on shares of American Express from $240.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, April 22nd. Oppenheimer reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of American Express in a research note on Friday, April 5th. BTIG Research started coverage on American Express in a report on Friday, June 7th. They set a “neutral” rating on the stock. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on American Express from $222.00 to $226.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, April 22nd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on American Express from $167.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $220.30.

Insider Activity

In other American Express news, insider Jennifer Skyler sold 14,802 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $241.73, for a total value of $3,578,087.46. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 16,371 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,957,361.83. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, EVP Quinn Jessica Lieberman sold 3,141 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $232.36, for a total value of $729,842.76. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 258 shares in the company, valued at $59,948.88. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Jennifer Skyler sold 14,802 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $241.73, for a total value of $3,578,087.46. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 16,371 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,957,361.83. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 177,717 shares of company stock worth $41,680,999 over the last quarter. 0.12% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.