B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG Purchases New Stake in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG purchased a new position in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP - Free Report) during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 72,637 shares of the payment services company's stock, valued at approximately $19,698,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in AXP. Kennebec Savings Bank purchased a new stake in American Express during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $29,000. DHJJ Financial Advisors Ltd. lifted its position in shares of American Express by 42.2% during the 2nd quarter. DHJJ Financial Advisors Ltd. now owns 165 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 49 shares during the last quarter. POM Investment Strategies LLC purchased a new stake in shares of American Express during the 2nd quarter worth $42,000. Founders Capital Management purchased a new stake in shares of American Express during the 2nd quarter worth $46,000. Finally, Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of American Express during the 3rd quarter worth $46,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.33% of the company's stock.

American Express Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:AXP remained flat at $285.54 on Tuesday. 2,494,392 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,901,408. The company has a current ratio of 1.63, a quick ratio of 1.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80. American Express has a fifty-two week low of $161.73 and a fifty-two week high of $296.83. The company has a market capitalization of $201.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 1.21. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $273.01 and its 200-day simple moving average is $251.72.

American Express (NYSE:AXP - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, October 18th. The payment services company reported $3.49 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.27 by $0.22. American Express had a net margin of 15.32% and a return on equity of 32.46%. The business had revenue of $16.64 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.68 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $3.30 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 8.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts forecast that American Express will post 13.47 earnings per share for the current year.

American Express Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 8th. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 4th were issued a $0.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, October 4th. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.98%. American Express's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 20.60%.

Insider Buying and Selling at American Express

In related news, insider Anre D. Williams sold 77,887 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $270.26, for a total value of $21,049,740.62. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 111,656 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $30,176,150.56. This trade represents a 41.09 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Vice Chairman Douglas E. Buckminster sold 13,111 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $270.98, for a total transaction of $3,552,818.78. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 109,691 shares in the company, valued at $29,724,067.18. This represents a 10.68 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.11% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on AXP shares. Monness Crespi & Hardt lifted their price objective on shares of American Express from $265.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of American Express from $285.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, September 30th. TD Cowen lifted their price target on shares of American Express from $260.00 to $268.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of American Express from $263.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 17th. Finally, HSBC lowered shares of American Express from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $265.00 to $270.00 in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $253.09.

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.