GDS Wealth Management Boosts Stock Position in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

GDS Wealth Management grew its stake in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP - Free Report) by 19.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 47,069 shares of the payment services company's stock after buying an additional 7,527 shares during the quarter. GDS Wealth Management's holdings in American Express were worth $8,818,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Lindbrook Capital LLC boosted its holdings in shares of American Express by 30.0% in the 3rd quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 2,489 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $371,000 after purchasing an additional 574 shares during the period. BluePath Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in American Express during the third quarter worth $29,000. FORVIS Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in American Express by 2.9% in the 3rd quarter. FORVIS Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 11,995 shares of the payment services company's stock valued at $1,790,000 after acquiring an additional 335 shares during the period. Baystate Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of American Express by 258.9% in the third quarter. Baystate Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,552 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $381,000 after acquiring an additional 1,841 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Waldron Private Wealth LLC grew its position in shares of American Express by 3.8% in the third quarter. Waldron Private Wealth LLC now owns 5,162 shares of the payment services company's stock valued at $770,000 after purchasing an additional 187 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 84.33% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of American Express from $222.00 to $226.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, April 22nd. Monness Crespi & Hardt upgraded American Express from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $245.00 price target for the company in a research note on Friday, April 5th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of American Express from $250.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 24th. William Blair reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of American Express in a research note on Friday, April 26th. Finally, HSBC boosted their price objective on shares of American Express from $232.00 to $239.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, American Express presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $210.71.

American Express Trading Up 1.2 %

Shares of NYSE AXP traded up $2.90 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $239.14. The company's stock had a trading volume of 3,161,222 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,180,305. American Express has a 12-month low of $140.91 and a 12-month high of $240.55. The firm has a market cap of $172.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 1.20. The business's 50 day moving average is $225.67 and its two-hundred day moving average is $196.42. The company has a current ratio of 1.62, a quick ratio of 1.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.70.

American Express (NYSE:AXP - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 19th. The payment services company reported $3.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.97 by $0.36. The firm had revenue of $15.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.79 billion. American Express had a return on equity of 32.46% and a net margin of 14.50%. The business's revenue was up 10.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.40 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that American Express will post 12.99 EPS for the current year.

American Express Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 9th. Investors of record on Friday, July 5th will be issued a $0.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, July 5th. This is a positive change from American Express's previous quarterly dividend of $0.10. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.17%. American Express's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 23.06%.

Insider Activity at American Express

In other news, insider Laureen Seeger sold 84,420 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $212.98, for a total value of $17,979,771.60. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 57,512 shares of the company's stock, valued at $12,248,905.76. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In related news, CEO Stephen J. Squeri sold 38,873 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $238.63, for a total value of $9,276,263.99. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 76,310 shares of the company's stock, valued at $18,209,855.30. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Laureen Seeger sold 84,420 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $212.98, for a total transaction of $17,979,771.60. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 57,512 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $12,248,905.76. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 316,691 shares of company stock valued at $70,856,898 over the last 90 days. 0.11% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.

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