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 - Free Report) by 36.9% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 29,887 shares of the payment services company's stock after purchasing 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 large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of American Express in the 4th quarter worth $1,785,867,000. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main lifted its stake in shares of American Express by 463.3% in the 4th quarter. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main now owns 4,357,487 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $1,293,259,000 after acquiring an additional 3,583,959 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in shares of American Express by 27,625.2% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,162,846 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $581,914,000 after acquiring an additional 2,155,045 shares during the period. Capital Research Global Investors lifted its stake in shares of American Express by 186.3% in the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 2,986,710 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $886,426,000 after acquiring an additional 1,943,463 shares during the period. Finally, Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of American Express by 346.2% in the 4th quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC now owns 2,021,873 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $600,072,000 after acquiring an additional 1,568,747 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.33% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Howard Grosfield sold 9,450 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 6th. The shares were 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 represents a 50.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Glenda G. Mcneal sold 3,019 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $264.66, for a total transaction of $799,008.54. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 10,919 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,889,822.54. This trade represents a 21.66% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

American Express Trading Up 1.4%

Shares of NYSE:AXP traded up $4.36 during trading on Thursday, reaching $316.26. The stock had a trading volume of 3,218,919 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,846,989. The stock has a market cap of $221.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.09, a PEG ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 1.25. The company has a quick ratio of 1.57, a current ratio of 1.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64. American Express Company has a fifty-two week low of $220.43 and a fifty-two week high of $329.14. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $303.06 and a 200-day moving average price of $290.92.

American Express (NYSE:AXP - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 17th. The payment services company reported $3.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.47 by $0.17. The business had revenue of $16.97 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $17.04 billion. American Express had a return on equity of 32.48% and a net margin of 15.31%. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $3.33 earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that American Express Company will post 15.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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. This represents a $3.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.04%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 3rd. American Express's payout ratio is 22.91%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently commented on AXP shares. Citigroup restated a "neutral" rating and issued a $327.00 target price (up previously from $300.00) on shares of American Express in a research note on Wednesday, July 2nd. Monness Crespi & Hardt cut shares of American Express from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday. Redburn Atlantic upgraded shares of American Express from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $270.00 to $255.00 in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of American Express from $250.00 to $311.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective 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. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have assigned a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $307.68.

About American Express

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.