DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main Grows Position in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main grew its position in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 463.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 4,357,487 shares of the payment services company's stock after purchasing an additional 3,583,959 shares during the quarter. American Express makes up about 1.3% of DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main's portfolio, making the stock its 18th biggest holding. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main owned 0.62% of American Express worth $1,293,259,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of American Express during the 4th quarter worth about $832,000. Keybank National Association OH lifted its holdings in American Express by 3.7% during the fourth quarter. Keybank National Association OH now owns 349,937 shares of the payment services company's stock valued at $103,858,000 after purchasing an additional 12,364 shares in the last quarter. LVM Capital Management Ltd. MI increased its stake in shares of American Express by 3.1% during the fourth quarter. LVM Capital Management Ltd. MI now owns 86,344 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $25,626,000 after purchasing an additional 2,557 shares in the last quarter. Edge Capital Group LLC raised its position in shares of American Express by 20.9% during the 4th quarter. Edge Capital Group LLC now owns 6,451 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $1,915,000 after purchasing an additional 1,113 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Game Plan Financial Advisors LLC lifted its stake in American Express by 17.5% in the 4th quarter. Game Plan Financial Advisors LLC now owns 18,982 shares of the payment services company's stock valued at $5,638,000 after buying an additional 2,826 shares in the last quarter. 84.33% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at American Express

In other news, Director Michael J. Angelakis purchased 3,700 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 7th. The stock was bought at an average price of $269.89 per share, for a total transaction of $998,593.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 3,700 shares of the company's stock, valued at $998,593. The trade was a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Glenda G. Mcneal sold 3,019 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $264.66, for a total transaction of $799,008.54. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 10,919 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,889,822.54. This represents a 21.66 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AXP has been the topic of several research reports. Royal Bank of Canada restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $310.00 target price on shares of American Express in a research report on Monday, April 21st. Argus cut shares of American Express from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, March 14th. Truist Financial reduced their target price on shares of American Express from $340.00 to $315.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Bank of America upgraded shares of American Express from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $325.00 to $274.00 in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised shares of American Express from an "underperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $265.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Friday, March 14th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have assigned a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $295.05.

American Express Stock Down 0.8 %

American Express stock opened at $275.68 on Wednesday. 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 $263.87 and a 200 day moving average price of $286.89. American Express has a fifty-two week low of $220.43 and a fifty-two week high of $326.28. The company has a market capitalization of $193.14 billion, a PE ratio of 19.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.23.

American Express (NYSE:AXP - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 17th. The payment services company reported $3.64 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.47 by $0.17. The company had revenue of $16.97 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $17.04 billion. American Express had a return on equity of 32.65% and a net margin of 15.36%. During the same period last year, the business posted $3.33 EPS. Research analysts expect that American Express will post 15.33 earnings per share for the current year.

American Express Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 4th will be issued a dividend of $0.82 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 4th. This is a positive change from American Express's previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. This represents a $3.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.19%. American Express's dividend payout ratio is 22.91%.

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.

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