American Express Company (NYSE:AXP) Shares Purchased by Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI

Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI increased its holdings in shares of American Express Company (NYSE:AXP) by 36.9% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 29,887 shares of the payment services company’s stock after acquiring an additional 8,053 shares during the period. Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI’s holdings in American Express were worth $8,041,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its stake in American Express by 24.4% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 6,481 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $1,924,000 after buying an additional 1,273 shares in the last quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG lifted its stake in American Express by 24.9% in the 4th quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG now owns 2,633 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $781,000 after buying an additional 525 shares in the last quarter. GHE LLC lifted its stake in American Express by 2.7% in the 4th quarter. GHE LLC now owns 17,021 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $5,052,000 after buying an additional 447 shares in the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC lifted its stake in American Express by 24.1% in the 4th quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 3,409 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $1,012,000 after buying an additional 661 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Axxcess Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in American Express by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC now owns 6,215 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $1,845,000 after buying an additional 79 shares in the last quarter. 84.33% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

American Express Stock Up 0.4%

American Express stock opened at $311.86 on Thursday. American Express Company has a fifty-two week low of $220.43 and a fifty-two week high of $329.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64, a quick ratio of 1.57 and a current ratio of 1.58. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $303.06 and a 200 day moving average price of $290.92. The company has a market capitalization of $218.49 billion, a PE ratio of 21.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.25.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 17th. The payment services company reported $3.64 EPS 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 the consensus estimate of $17.04 billion. American Express had a net margin of 15.31% and a return on equity of 32.48%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $3.33 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that American Express Company will post 15.33 earnings per share for the current year.

American Express Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 8th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 3rd will be paid a $0.82 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 3rd. This represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.05%. American Express’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 22.91%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AXP has been the topic of a number of research reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on shares of American Express from $360.00 to $371.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of American Express from $250.00 to $311.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. Redburn Atlantic raised shares of American Express from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $270.00 to $255.00 in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of American Express in a research note on Monday. Finally, Citigroup reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $327.00 target price (up from $300.00) on shares of American Express in a research note on Wednesday, July 2nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have given a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $307.68.

Insider Buying and Selling at American Express

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

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.