MEAG MUNICH ERGO Kapitalanlagegesellschaft mbH Lowers Position in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

MEAG MUNICH ERGO Kapitalanlagegesellschaft mbH lowered its stake in American Express (NYSE:AXP - Free Report) by 77.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,014 shares of the payment services company's stock after selling 3,548 shares during the quarter. MEAG MUNICH ERGO Kapitalanlagegesellschaft mbH's holdings in American Express were worth $301,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Prospera Private Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of American Express in the 3rd quarter valued at about $27,000. Kennebec Savings Bank acquired a new stake in shares of American Express in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $29,000. True Wealth Design LLC grew its stake in shares of American Express by 332.0% in the third quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 108 shares of the payment services company's stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 83 shares in the last quarter. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. acquired a new position in American Express during the third quarter worth $38,000. Finally, Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in American Express in the third quarter valued at $46,000. Institutional investors own 84.33% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have commented on AXP shares. BTIG Research upped their price objective on shares of American Express from $266.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a "sell" rating in a report on Friday. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on American Express from $270.00 to $300.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, October 7th. TD Cowen boosted their price target on American Express from $260.00 to $268.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. HSBC increased their price objective on American Express from $270.00 to $294.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on shares of American Express from $325.00 to $350.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, American Express has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $281.00.

American Express Price Performance

American Express stock traded down $5.00 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $320.87. The company had a trading volume of 6,256,039 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,894,205. The company has a current ratio of 1.63, a quick ratio of 1.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80. The company has a market cap of $226.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.61, a P/E/G ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.23. American Express has a fifty-two week low of $186.43 and a fifty-two week high of $326.27. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $302.35 and a 200 day simple moving average of $274.66.

American Express (NYSE:AXP - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 24th. The payment services company reported $3.04 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.00 by $0.04. American Express had a return on equity of 32.46% and a net margin of 15.32%. On average, equities research analysts predict that American Express will post 13.4 earnings per share for the current year.

American Express Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 10th. Investors of record on Friday, January 3rd will be paid a dividend of $0.70 per share. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.87%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 3rd. American Express's dividend payout ratio is presently 20.60%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other American Express news, Vice Chairman Douglas E. Buckminster sold 13,111 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $270.98, for a total value of $3,552,818.78. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 109,691 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $29,724,067.18. This represents a 10.68 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Caillec Christophe Le sold 6,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $303.48, for a total value of $1,820,880.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 6,433 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,952,286.84. The trade was a 48.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.12% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.