Godsey & Gibb Inc. Boosts Stock Position in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Godsey & Gibb Inc. lifted its position in American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 3.5% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 1,227 shares of the payment services company’s stock after purchasing an additional 41 shares during the quarter. Godsey & Gibb Inc.’s holdings in American Express were worth $333,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Sovereign Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of American Express by 2.7% in the 3rd quarter. Sovereign Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,467 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $398,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares in the last quarter. Legacy Financial Strategies LLC boosted its holdings in American Express by 2.5% during the 3rd quarter. Legacy Financial Strategies LLC now owns 1,632 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $443,000 after acquiring an additional 40 shares during the period. Sawgrass Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in American Express by 0.4% during the 2nd quarter. Sawgrass Asset Management LLC now owns 10,384 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $2,404,000 after acquiring an additional 41 shares during the period. Davis Investment Partners LLC boosted its holdings in American Express by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. Davis Investment Partners LLC now owns 8,011 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $2,170,000 after acquiring an additional 42 shares during the period. Finally, Ignite Planners LLC boosted its holdings in American Express by 0.9% during the 2nd quarter. Ignite Planners LLC now owns 4,682 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $1,103,000 after acquiring an additional 43 shares during the period. 84.33% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on AXP shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on American Express from $265.00 to $280.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, July 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on American Express from $270.00 to $300.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, October 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered American Express from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and upped their price target for the company from $268.00 to $286.00 in a research report on Monday, October 7th. BTIG Research lowered American Express from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $230.00 price target for the company. in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Finally, Monness Crespi & Hardt upped their price target on American Express from $265.00 to $300.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have given a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, American Express currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $242.33.

American Express Stock Down 3.1 %

AXP stock opened at $276.79 on Monday. The business has a 50 day moving average of $261.27 and a 200 day moving average of $244.02. The company has a quick ratio of 1.66, a current ratio of 1.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74. American Express has a twelve month low of $140.91 and a twelve month high of $286.36. The firm has a market cap of $199.10 billion, a PE ratio of 22.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 1.21.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last issued its earnings results on Friday, October 18th. The payment services company reported $3.49 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.27 by $0.22. American Express had a return on equity of 32.94% and a net margin of 15.53%. The business had revenue of $16.64 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.68 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $3.30 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 8.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts forecast that American Express will post 13.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Express Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 8th. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 4th will be paid a $0.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 4th. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.01%. American Express’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 23.06%.

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.