Meiji Yasuda Life Insurance Co significantly increased its stake in American Express (NYSE:AXP) during the fourth quarter, according to the company’s latest 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor boosted its holdings by 34.4%, acquiring an additional 2,083 shares to own a total of 8,130 shares of the payment services company’s stock. At the end of the reporting period, Meiji Yasuda Life Insurance Co’s holdings in American Express were valued at $2,413,000.
Other institutional investors also made significant moves in American Express stock during the fourth quarter. Several hedge funds acquired new stakes in the company, including Sellwood Investment Partners LLC, Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp, Curio Wealth LLC, Financial Life Planners, and Sierra Ocean LLC. The total value of these new positions ranged from $33,000 to $40,000.
Institutional investors and hedge funds collectively own 84.33% of American Express’s stock. In related news, two insiders sold shares of the company in recent transactions. Glenda G. Mcneal sold 3,019 shares on April 29th at an average price of $264.66, reducing her position by 21.66%. Ravikumar Radhakrishnan sold 9,485 shares on February 5th at an average price of $319.17, decreasing his holding by 41.27%.
Analysts have been adjusting their ratings for American Express. Bank of America upgraded its rating from “neutral” to “buy” while lowering its target price from $325.00 to $274.00. Other brokerages, including Redburn Atlantic, Compass Point, Truist Financial, and Monness Crespi & Hardt, also revised their ratings and price targets for the stock. Currently, one analyst has a “sell” rating, sixteen have a “hold” rating, and eight have a “buy” rating. The average price target is $295.05.
American Express recently announced a quarterly dividend increase, with stockholders of record on April 4th set to receive $0.82 per share on May 9th. This represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a 1.22% dividend yield. The company’s dividend payout ratio is 22.91%.
