Gunderson Capital Management Inc. Purchases 17,347 Shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Gunderson Capital Management Inc. raised its position in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 87.9% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 37,087 shares of the payment services company’s stock after acquiring an additional 17,347 shares during the period. American Express accounts for approximately 4.3% of Gunderson Capital Management Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 9th largest position. Gunderson Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in American Express were worth $10,058,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Scarborough Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of American Express during the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Game Plan Financial Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of American Express by 62.5% during the first 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 last quarter. Creekmur Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of American Express during the fourth quarter worth $32,000. Transcendent Capital Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of American Express in the fourth quarter worth $37,000. Finally, Riverview Trust Co bought a new position in American Express during the 1st quarter worth $38,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on AXP. Hsbc Global Res cut American Express from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday. HSBC downgraded shares of American Express from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $265.00 to $270.00 in a research report on Tuesday. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on shares of American Express from $275.00 to $290.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a report on Monday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered American Express from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $268.00 to $286.00 in a research report on Monday. Finally, Compass Point began coverage on American Express in a research report on Tuesday, July 16th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $260.00 target price on the stock. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have given a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, American Express presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $239.96.

American Express Price Performance

NYSE AXP traded up $1.63 on Wednesday, reaching $270.74. 440,204 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,918,661. The stock has a market cap of $194.74 billion, a PE ratio of 22.16, a P/E/G ratio of 1.48 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74, a current ratio of 1.66 and a quick ratio of 1.66. American Express has a 12 month low of $140.91 and a 12 month high of $276.79. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $254.76 and a 200 day simple moving average of $241.19.

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

American Express Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 8th. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 4th will be given a $0.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 4th. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.03%. American Express’s payout ratio is currently 23.06%.

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.