Siemens Fonds Invest GmbH Trims Stock Position in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Siemens Fonds Invest GmbH cut its position in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP - Free Report) by 11.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 21,951 shares of the payment services company's stock after selling 2,954 shares during the quarter. Siemens Fonds Invest GmbH's holdings in American Express were worth $6,527,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Investment Management Corp VA ADV acquired a new position in shares of American Express during the fourth quarter valued at about $29,000. Sellwood Investment Partners LLC purchased a new position in American Express in the fourth quarter worth $33,000. Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp bought a new position in American Express during the fourth quarter valued at about $33,000. Curio Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of American Express during the 4th quarter worth approximately $37,000. Finally, Financial Life Planners bought a new stake in shares of American Express in the fourth quarter valued at $38,000. 84.33% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have issued reports on AXP. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on American Express from $244.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, April 21st. Robert W. Baird upgraded American Express from an "underperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $265.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Friday, March 14th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $310.00 target price on shares of American Express in a research report on Monday, April 21st. Citigroup lowered their price objective on American Express from $320.00 to $300.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, March 24th. Finally, Baird R W upgraded shares of American Express from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, March 14th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have given a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $296.05.

American Express Stock Up 0.7%

American Express stock traded up $2.14 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $295.50. The stock had a trading volume of 2,361,754 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,844,659. The company has a market capitalization of $207.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.09, a PEG ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64, a current ratio of 1.58 and a quick ratio of 1.57. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $270.26 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $288.66. American Express has a one year low of $220.43 and a one year high of $326.28.

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 business had revenue of $16.97 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $17.04 billion. American Express had a net margin of 15.36% and a return on equity of 32.65%. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $3.33 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that American Express will post 15.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Express Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 9th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 4th were issued a dividend of $0.82 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, April 4th. This represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.11%. This is an increase from American Express's previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. American Express's payout ratio is currently 22.91%.

Insider Activity at American Express

In other American Express news, Director Michael J. Angelakis acquired 3,700 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, March 7th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $269.89 per share, for a total transaction of $998,593.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 3,700 shares of the company's stock, valued at $998,593. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, 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 value of $2,603,475.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 9,402 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,590,251. This trade represents a 50.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

American Express Company 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.