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

GDS Wealth Management boosted its stake in American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 3.7% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 62,468 shares of the payment services company’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,231 shares during the period. American Express comprises approximately 1.7% of GDS Wealth Management’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 21st largest position. GDS Wealth Management’s holdings in American Express were worth $18,540,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of AXP. Catalina Capital Group LLC raised its position in shares of American Express by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Catalina Capital Group LLC now owns 3,356 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $996,000 after buying an additional 34 shares during the last quarter. Auxier Asset Management boosted its position in shares of American Express by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. Auxier Asset Management now owns 7,133 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $1,934,000 after acquiring an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. Abel Hall LLC boosted its position in shares of American Express by 3.6% during the 3rd quarter. Abel Hall LLC now owns 1,011 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $274,000 after acquiring an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. Sunflower Bank N.A. raised its position in American Express by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Sunflower Bank N.A. now owns 4,054 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $1,203,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Foster & Motley Inc. boosted its holdings in American Express by 2.1% during the fourth quarter. Foster & Motley Inc. now owns 1,716 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $509,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Caillec Christophe Le sold 6,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $303.48, for a total transaction of $1,820,880.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 6,433 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,952,286.84. This represents a 48.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Raymond Joabar sold 15,179 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $313.94, for a total transaction of $4,765,295.26. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 23,866 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,492,492.04. The trade was a 38.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. BTIG Research upped their target price on shares of American Express from $266.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Truist Financial assumed coverage on shares of American Express in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. They set a “buy” rating and a $350.00 price objective on the stock. William Blair reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of American Express in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Citigroup raised their price target on American Express from $305.00 to $320.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, HSBC raised their target price on American Express from $270.00 to $294.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Three research 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, American Express has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $296.38.

American Express Price Performance

NYSE:AXP opened at $316.43 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $222.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.59, a P/E/G ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 1.23. The business’s 50-day moving average is $304.98 and its 200 day moving average is $277.73. The company has a current ratio of 1.67, a quick ratio of 1.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64. American Express has a 12 month low of $203.42 and a 12 month high of $326.27.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 24th. The payment services company reported $3.04 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.00 by $0.04. American Express had a net margin of 15.36% and a return on equity of 32.65%. On average, equities research analysts forecast that American Express will post 15.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Express Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 3rd will be paid a $0.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 3rd. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.88%. American Express’s dividend payout ratio is currently 19.99%.

American Express Company 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.