GDS Wealth Management Raises Holdings in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

GDS Wealth Management increased its holdings in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 6.1% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 60,237 shares of the payment services company’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,459 shares during the period. American Express makes up 1.6% of GDS Wealth Management’s portfolio, making the stock its 24th biggest position. GDS Wealth Management’s holdings in American Express were worth $16,336,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AXP. Kennebec Savings Bank bought a new stake in American Express in the 3rd quarter valued at about $29,000. DHJJ Financial Advisors Ltd. boosted its stake in American Express by 42.2% during the second quarter. DHJJ Financial Advisors Ltd. now owns 165 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 49 shares in the last quarter. POM Investment Strategies LLC purchased a new stake in American Express during the second quarter valued at about $42,000. Founders Capital Management acquired a new stake in American Express during the 2nd quarter valued at $46,000. Finally, Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in American Express during the 3rd quarter worth about $46,000. 84.33% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

American Express Stock Performance

Shares of AXP stock opened at $287.60 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80, a quick ratio of 1.63 and a current ratio of 1.63. American Express has a 52 week low of $152.05 and a 52 week high of $296.83. The company has a market capitalization of $202.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.16, a PEG ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $268.64 and a 200 day simple moving average of $249.46.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, October 18th. The payment services company reported $3.49 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 company had revenue of $16.64 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.68 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $3.30 EPS. American Express’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts predict that American Express will post 13.4 earnings per share for the current year.

American Express Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 8th. Investors of record on Friday, October 4th were given a dividend of $0.70 per share. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.97%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, October 4th. American Express’s payout ratio is currently 20.60%.

Insider Transactions at American Express

In other news, insider Anre D. Williams sold 77,887 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $270.26, for a total transaction of $21,049,740.62. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 111,656 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $30,176,150.56. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other American Express news, insider Anre D. Williams sold 77,887 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $270.26, for a total value of $21,049,740.62. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 111,656 shares in the company, valued at $30,176,150.56. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Vice Chairman Douglas E. Buckminster sold 13,111 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $270.98, for a total value of $3,552,818.78. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 109,691 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $29,724,067.18. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently issued reports on the company. Bank of America lifted their price objective on American Express from $263.00 to $265.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 17th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on American Express from $265.00 to $267.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, July 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of American Express from $285.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, September 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on shares of American Express from $270.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, October 7th. Finally, BTIG Research lowered American Express from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $230.00 price target on the stock. in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus 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.