Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH Boosts Position in American Express Company (NYSE:AXP)

Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH raised its position in shares of American Express Company (NYSE:AXP - Free Report) by 1.5% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 640,889 shares of the payment services company's stock after purchasing an additional 9,679 shares during the quarter. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH owned approximately 0.09% of American Express worth $172,431,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in AXP. Investment Management Corp VA ADV bought a new position in shares of American Express during the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of American Express during the 1st quarter worth approximately $29,000. Sellwood Investment Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of American Express during the 4th quarter worth approximately $33,000. Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp bought a new position in shares of American Express during the 4th quarter worth approximately $33,000. Finally, Nexus Investment Management ULC bought a new position in shares of American Express during the 1st quarter worth approximately $34,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.33% of the company's stock.

American Express Stock Performance

Shares of American Express stock traded down $0.45 on Thursday, reaching $308.21. 1,529,195 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,000,504. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80, a current ratio of 1.61 and a quick ratio of 1.69. The firm has a market capitalization of $214.48 billion, a PE ratio of 21.63, a PEG ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 1.25. The company has a 50 day moving average of $304.49 and a 200 day moving average of $291.25. American Express Company has a 52 week low of $220.43 and a 52 week high of $329.14.

American Express (NYSE:AXP - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Friday, July 18th. The payment services company reported $4.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.86 by $0.22. The firm had revenue of $17.86 billion for 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 revenue was up 9.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $3.49 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that American Express Company will post 15.33 earnings per share for the current year.

American Express Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 8th. Investors of record on Thursday, July 3rd will be issued a $0.82 dividend. This represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.06%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 3rd. American Express's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 23.02%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have issued reports on AXP. Truist Financial increased their price target on American Express from $335.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on American Express from $360.00 to $371.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Barclays increased 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. Bank of America upgraded American Express from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and cut their target price for the stock from $325.00 to $274.00 in a report on Friday, April 11th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company set a $327.00 target price on American Express in a report on Wednesday, July 2nd. 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 company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $311.05.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Howard Grosfield sold 9,450 shares of American Express stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $275.50, for a total value of $2,603,475.00. Following the completion of the sale, 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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Glenda G. Mcneal sold 3,019 shares of American Express stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $264.66, for a total value of $799,008.54. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 10,919 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,889,822.54. This trade represents a 21.66% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.20% of the company's stock.

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.