Deutsche Bank AG Has $779.44 Million Stake in American Express Company (NYSE:AXP)

Deutsche Bank AG increased its holdings in shares of American Express Company (NYSE:AXP) by 7.4% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 2,897,024 shares of the payment services company’s stock after acquiring an additional 198,392 shares during the period. Deutsche Bank AG owned about 0.41% of American Express worth $779,444,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also bought and sold shares of AXP. Investment Management Corp VA ADV acquired a new position in American Express in the fourth quarter worth $29,000. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in American Express during the 1st quarter worth about $29,000. Nexus Investment Management ULC bought a new stake in American Express during the 1st quarter worth about $34,000. Hughes Financial Services LLC acquired a new stake in American Express in the 1st quarter valued at about $35,000. Finally, IAG Wealth Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of American Express in the first quarter worth about $40,000. 84.33% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

American Express Price Performance

American Express stock opened at $295.46 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $205.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.73, a PEG ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.28. The company has a current ratio of 1.61, a quick ratio of 1.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80. American Express Company has a 12 month low of $220.43 and a 12 month high of $329.14. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $306.53 and its 200-day moving average is $291.17.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 18th. The payment services company reported $4.08 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.86 by $0.22. American Express had a return on equity of 32.87% and a net margin of 14.78%. The firm had revenue of $17.86 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $17.70 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $3.49 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.3% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that American Express Company will post 15.33 EPS for the current year.

American Express Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 8th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 3rd 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 1.1%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 3rd. American Express’s dividend payout ratio is presently 23.02%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Glenda G. Mcneal sold 50,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $309.50, for a total value of $15,475,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 10,957 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,391,191.50. The trade was a 82.03% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Anna Marrs sold 5,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $310.77, for a total transaction of $1,709,235.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 20,311 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,312,049.47. This trade represents a 21.31% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of American Express from $250.00 to $311.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 10th. Monness Crespi & Hardt lowered American Express from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 15th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on shares of American Express from $360.00 to $371.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. BTIG Research set a $277.00 target price on shares of American Express and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a report on Monday, July 14th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company set a $327.00 target price on American Express in a report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have given a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $311.05.

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.