B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG Sells 16,038 Shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP)

B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG decreased its position in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 22.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 56,599 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 16,038 shares during the quarter. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG’s holdings in American Express were worth $16,798,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of AXP. True Wealth Design LLC raised its holdings in American Express by 332.0% during the third quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 108 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 83 shares during the last quarter. Sellwood Investment Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of American Express in the 4th quarter worth about $33,000. Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp bought a new position in American Express in the 4th quarter valued at about $33,000. Curio Wealth LLC bought a new stake in American Express during the 4th quarter worth approximately $37,000. Finally, Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. purchased a new stake in shares of American Express in the third quarter worth approximately $38,000. 84.33% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at American Express

In related news, insider Raymond Joabar sold 15,179 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $313.94, for a total value of $4,765,295.26. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 23,866 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,492,492.04. The trade was a 38.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Michael J. Angelakis purchased 3,700 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, March 7th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $269.89 per share, for a total transaction of $998,593.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 3,700 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $998,593. This represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

American Express Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:AXP opened at $265.16 on Monday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $295.02 and a 200 day moving average of $289.68. The company has a current ratio of 1.58, a quick ratio of 1.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64. The stock has a market cap of $186.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.93, a P/E/G ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.21. American Express has a 12 month low of $214.51 and a 12 month high of $326.28.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 24th. The payment services company reported $3.04 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.00 by $0.04. American Express had a net margin of 15.36% and a return on equity of 32.65%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that American Express will post 15.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Express Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 4th will be given a dividend of $0.82 per share. This represents a $3.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.24%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 4th. This is an increase from American Express’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. American Express’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 23.41%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently issued reports on AXP. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on American Express from $355.00 to $370.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of American Express from $283.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, January 13th. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price target on shares of American Express from $367.00 to $330.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, March 18th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of American Express from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Citigroup dropped their target price on shares of American Express from $320.00 to $300.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 24th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have given a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $302.57.

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.