Allianz SE Lowers Stake in American Express Company (NYSE:AXP)

Key Points

• Allianz SE reduced its stake in American Express by 34.0%, holding 131,302 shares valued at approximately $35.33 million, making it the company's 20th largest position.
• American Express reported an EPS of $4.08 for the latest quarter, surpassing expectations and achieving a 9.3% year-over-year revenue increase to $17.86 billion.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.82 per share, which will be paid on August 8th, reflecting an annualized dividend yield of 1.1%.

Allianz SE decreased its position in American Express Company (NYSE:AXP - Free Report) by 34.0% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 131,302 shares of the payment services company's stock after selling 67,553 shares during the period. American Express accounts for 0.9% of Allianz SE's portfolio, making the stock its 20th largest position. Allianz SE's holdings in American Express were worth $35,327,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Arista Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in American Express by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. Arista Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,275 shares of the payment services company's stock valued at $675,000 after buying an additional 37 shares during the period. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of American Express by 2.5% during the 1st quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 1,620 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $436,000 after acquiring an additional 40 shares during the period. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of American Express by 0.8% during the 1st quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 5,236 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $1,362,000 after acquiring an additional 40 shares during the period. Arcus Capital Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of American Express by 0.3% during the 1st quarter. Arcus Capital Partners LLC now owns 11,623 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $3,127,000 after acquiring an additional 40 shares during the period. Finally, Mitchell Mcleod Pugh & Williams Inc. boosted its stake in shares of American Express by 0.4% during the 1st quarter. Mitchell Mcleod Pugh & Williams Inc. now owns 9,692 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $2,608,000 after acquiring an additional 40 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 84.33% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently issued reports on AXP. Wells Fargo & Company set a $327.00 price target on American Express in a research note on Wednesday, July 2nd. Barclays upped their target price on American Express from $249.00 to $297.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Truist Financial upped their target price on American Express from $335.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Citigroup reiterated a "neutral" rating and issued a $327.00 price target (up previously from $300.00) on shares of American Express in a research report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their target price on American Express from $250.00 to $311.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have issued a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, American Express has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $311.05.

American Express Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE AXP traded down $0.68 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $297.91. 554,237 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,958,365. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $306.43 and a two-hundred day moving average of $291.10. The firm has a market capitalization of $207.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.87, a PEG ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 1.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80, a quick ratio of 1.60 and a current ratio of 1.61. American Express Company has a one year low of $220.43 and a one year high of $329.14.

American Express (NYSE:AXP - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 18th. The payment services company reported $4.08 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.86 by $0.22. The firm had revenue of $17.86 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $17.70 billion. American Express had a return on equity of 32.87% and a net margin of 14.78%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 9.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $3.49 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that American Express Company will post 15.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Express Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 8th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 3rd will be paid a dividend of $0.82 per share. This represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 3rd. American Express's payout ratio is currently 23.02%.

Insider Activity at American Express

In related news, insider Anna Marrs sold 5,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $310.77, for a total value of $1,709,235.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 20,311 shares of the company's stock, valued at $6,312,049.47. The trade was a 21.31% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Glenda G. Mcneal sold 50,000 shares of American Express stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $309.50, for a total transaction of $15,475,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 10,957 shares in the company, valued at $3,391,191.50. This represents a 82.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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.