Mizuho Securities USA LLC Reduces Holdings in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Mizuho Securities USA LLC decreased its stake in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP - Free Report) by 4.7% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 41,757 shares of the payment services company's stock after selling 2,057 shares during the period. Mizuho Securities USA LLC's holdings in American Express were worth $11,324,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its holdings in American Express by 8.5% during the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 8,447,441 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $1,923,399,000 after purchasing an additional 662,382 shares during the period. Boston Partners grew its stake in American Express by 22.2% during the first quarter. Boston Partners now owns 2,129,175 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $485,525,000 after buying an additional 387,166 shares in the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. lifted its stake in American Express by 0.5% during the third quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 1,682,959 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $456,418,000 after purchasing an additional 7,676 shares during the last quarter. abrdn plc grew its position in American Express by 2.2% in the third quarter. abrdn plc now owns 1,270,814 shares of the payment services company's stock valued at $343,437,000 after acquiring an additional 27,859 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC lifted its stake in American Express by 2.0% in the 2nd quarter. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC now owns 1,220,422 shares of the payment services company's stock valued at $282,589,000 after purchasing an additional 23,487 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 84.33% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at American Express

In related news, insider Anre D. Williams sold 77,887 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $270.26, for a total transaction of $21,049,740.62. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 111,656 shares of the company's stock, valued at $30,176,150.56. This trade represents a 41.09 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Vice Chairman Douglas E. Buckminster sold 13,111 shares of American Express stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $270.98, for a total value of $3,552,818.78. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 109,691 shares in the company, valued at $29,724,067.18. This represents a 10.68 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.12% of the company's stock.

American Express Stock Performance

AXP traded down $1.43 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $286.87. 2,614,568 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,934,763. The firm has a market capitalization of $202.09 billion, a PE ratio of 21.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a quick ratio of 1.63, a current ratio of 1.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80. The company's 50-day moving average is $272.31 and its 200 day moving average is $251.20. American Express has a 52 week low of $157.97 and a 52 week high of $296.83.

American Express (NYSE:AXP - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, October 18th. The payment services company reported $3.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.27 by $0.22. The company had revenue of $16.64 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.68 billion. American Express had a return on equity of 32.46% and a net margin of 15.32%. American Express's revenue was up 8.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $3.30 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that American Express will post 13.47 EPS for the current year.

American Express Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 8th. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 4th were issued a $0.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, October 4th. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.98%. American Express's payout ratio is 20.60%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on AXP shares. BTIG Research lowered shares of American Express from a "neutral" rating to a "sell" rating and set a $230.00 price target for the company. in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on American Express from $285.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, September 30th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on American Express from $248.00 to $252.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Hsbc Global Res lowered American Express from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Finally, HSBC downgraded American Express from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $265.00 to $270.00 in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $253.09.

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.