Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI Has $5.11 Million Stock Holdings in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI increased its stake in American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 5.1% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 18,829 shares of the payment services company’s stock after buying an additional 915 shares during the period. Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI’s holdings in American Express were worth $5,106,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Chris Bulman Inc increased its position in shares of American Express by 12.2% during the third quarter. Chris Bulman Inc now owns 772 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $209,000 after buying an additional 84 shares during the period. Weaver Capital Management LLC boosted its position in American Express by 47.8% during the third quarter. Weaver Capital Management LLC now owns 2,687 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $729,000 after acquiring an additional 869 shares during the last quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC grew its holdings in American Express by 0.7% during the 3rd quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 55,723 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $15,112,000 after acquiring an additional 407 shares during the period. BLB&B Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of American Express by 21.7% in the 3rd quarter. BLB&B Advisors LLC now owns 13,896 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $3,769,000 after acquiring an additional 2,474 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Stanley Laman Group Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of American Express in the 3rd quarter valued at about $525,000. 84.33% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

American Express Stock Performance

Shares of AXP opened at $272.02 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $262.61 and a 200 day moving average of $244.73. The company has a current ratio of 1.66, a quick ratio of 1.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74. American Express has a 12 month low of $141.02 and a 12 month high of $286.36. The company has a market capitalization of $195.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.43, a PEG ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 1.21.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last released its earnings results on Friday, October 18th. The payment services company reported $3.49 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.27 by $0.22. The company had revenue of $16.64 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.68 billion. American Express had a return on equity of 32.94% and a net margin of 15.53%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $3.30 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that American Express will post 13.14 earnings per share for the current year.

American Express Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 8th. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 4th will be given a dividend of $0.70 per share. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.03%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 4th. American Express’s dividend payout ratio is currently 23.06%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have weighed in on AXP. Monness Crespi & Hardt lifted their target price on American Express from $265.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, October 14th. HSBC lowered shares of American Express from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $265.00 to $270.00 in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on shares of American Express from $265.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, July 8th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of American Express from $285.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, September 30th. Finally, Evercore ISI increased their price objective on shares of American Express from $275.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have issued a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $244.58.

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.