GDS Wealth Management Increases Stake in American Express Company $AXP

GDS Wealth Management grew its stake in American Express Company (NYSE:AXP) by 3.1% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 66,594 shares of the payment services company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,973 shares during the period. American Express comprises approximately 1.5% of GDS Wealth Management’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 20th largest holding. GDS Wealth Management’s holdings in American Express were worth $21,242,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Briaud Financial Planning Inc purchased a new stake in shares of American Express during the 2nd quarter worth about $26,000. Access Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in American Express during the second quarter worth approximately $26,000. 1 North Wealth Services LLC purchased a new position in American Express during the first quarter worth approximately $37,000. Chung Wu Investment Group LLC acquired a new stake in American Express in the second quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Finally, Solstein Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of American Express in the second quarter valued at approximately $39,000. 84.33% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on AXP shares. Wall Street Zen cut shares of American Express from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, November 9th. Evercore ISI raised their price target on shares of American Express from $330.00 to $365.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 30th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on American Express from $330.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 7th. HSBC set a $295.00 price target on American Express and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, October 10th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of American Express in a research note on Thursday, November 13th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $332.65.

American Express Stock Up 1.2%

Shares of NYSE:AXP opened at $344.77 on Thursday. American Express Company has a 52-week low of $220.43 and a 52-week high of $377.23. The company has a quick ratio of 1.59, a current ratio of 1.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.78. The business has a fifty day moving average of $344.58 and a two-hundred day moving average of $319.40. The stock has a market cap of $237.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.14, a PEG ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 1.27.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, October 17th. The payment services company reported $4.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.98 by $0.16. American Express had a net margin of 14.97% and a return on equity of 33.41%. The firm had revenue of $17.14 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $18.03 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $3.49 earnings per share. American Express’s quarterly revenue was up 11.0% on a year-over-year basis. American Express has set its FY 2025 guidance at 15.200-15.500 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that American Express Company will post 15.33 earnings per share for the current year.

American Express Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, November 10th. Investors of record on Friday, October 10th were given a $0.82 dividend. This represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, October 10th. American Express’s dividend payout ratio is presently 22.01%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Denise Pickett sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $350.73, for a total transaction of $1,753,650.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 7,726 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,709,739.98. This represents a 39.29% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Stephen J. Squeri sold 112,272 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $329.86, for a total transaction of $37,034,041.92. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 92,810 shares in the company, valued at approximately $30,614,306.60. This trade represents a 54.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 193,292 shares of company stock worth $65,363,878. Corporate insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

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.