Allianz SE Purchases Shares of 198,855 American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Allianz SE bought a new position in American Express (NYSE:AXP - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 198,855 shares of the payment services company's stock, valued at approximately $59,042,000. American Express accounts for about 1.5% of Allianz SE's portfolio, making the stock its 12th biggest position.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. True Wealth Design LLC boosted its position in shares of American Express by 332.0% during the 3rd quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 108 shares of the payment services company's stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 83 shares in the last quarter. Sellwood Investment Partners LLC acquired a new stake in American Express during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp bought a new stake in shares of American Express in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Curio Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of American Express in the 4th quarter worth approximately $37,000. Finally, Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. bought a new position in shares of American Express during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $38,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.33% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other American Express news, insider Raymond Joabar sold 15,179 shares of the firm'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 sale, the insider now owns 23,866 shares of the company's stock, valued at $7,492,492.04. This trade represents a 38.88 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Ravikumar Radhakrishnan sold 9,485 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $319.17, for a total value of $3,027,327.45. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 13,500 shares in the company, valued at $4,308,795. The trade was a 41.27 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.20% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently commented on AXP. Truist Financial began coverage on shares of American Express in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $350.00 target price on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price objective on shares of American Express from $367.00 to $330.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 18th. StockNews.com lowered shares of American Express from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Citigroup reduced their target price on American Express from $320.00 to $300.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, March 24th. Finally, Compass Point dropped their price target on American Express from $325.00 to $309.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 27th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have assigned a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, American Express has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $302.57.

American Express Price Performance

AXP traded up $5.39 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $275.87. 1,048,769 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,762,504. American Express has a 12-month low of $214.51 and a 12-month high of $326.28. The company's 50-day moving average is $293.20 and its two-hundred day moving average is $289.86. The company has a quick ratio of 1.57, a current ratio of 1.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64. The company has a market cap of $193.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.69, a P/E/G ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.21.

American Express (NYSE:AXP - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 24th. The payment services company reported $3.04 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.00 by $0.04. American Express had a net margin of 15.36% and a return on equity of 32.65%. Research analysts forecast that American Express will post 15.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Express Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Investors of record on Friday, April 4th will be given a dividend of $0.82 per share. This represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.19%. This is a positive change from American Express's previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 4th. American Express's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 23.41%.

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.