American Express (NYSE:AXP) Shares Bought by Cypress Wealth Services LLC

Cypress Wealth Services LLC raised its stake in American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 2.9% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 5,342 shares of the payment services company’s stock after purchasing an additional 151 shares during the period. Cypress Wealth Services LLC’s holdings in American Express were worth $1,449,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Scarborough Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of American Express in the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Game Plan Financial Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of American Express by 62.5% in the 1st quarter. Game Plan Financial Advisors LLC now owns 130 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares during the period. Creekmur Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of American Express in the 4th quarter valued at $32,000. Transcendent Capital Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of American Express in the 4th quarter valued at $37,000. Finally, Riverview Trust Co purchased a new position in shares of American Express in the 1st quarter valued at $38,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

American Express Price Performance

Shares of NYSE AXP traded up $0.91 during trading on Thursday, reaching $272.33. The company had a trading volume of 150,410 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,912,939. American Express has a 52 week low of $140.91 and a 52 week high of $276.79. The stock has a market cap of $195.89 billion, a PE ratio of 22.36, a PEG ratio of 1.48 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74, a quick ratio of 1.66 and a current ratio of 1.66. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $255.13 and its 200-day moving average price is $241.40.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last announced its earnings results on Friday, July 19th. The payment services company reported $3.49 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.26 by $0.23. American Express had a net margin of 15.53% and a return on equity of 32.94%. The company had revenue of $16.33 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.60 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.89 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 9.2% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that American Express will post 13.13 earnings per share for the current year.

American Express Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 8th. Investors of record on Friday, October 4th will be paid 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 (DPR) is 23.06%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on shares of American Express from $275.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research note on Monday. HSBC lowered shares of American Express from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $265.00 to $270.00 in a report on Tuesday. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on shares of American Express from $270.00 to $300.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of American Express from $223.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Compass Point assumed coverage on shares of American Express in a research report on Tuesday, July 16th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $260.00 price target on the stock. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have given a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $239.96.

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.