Greystone Financial Group LLC Acquires 3,611 Shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Greystone Financial Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 7.9% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 49,396 shares of the payment services company’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,611 shares during the period. American Express comprises about 2.4% of Greystone Financial Group LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 12th biggest position. Greystone Financial Group LLC’s holdings in American Express were worth $13,396,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. DHJJ Financial Advisors Ltd. increased its stake in American Express by 42.2% in the 2nd quarter. DHJJ Financial Advisors Ltd. now owns 165 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 49 shares during the period. BNP Paribas bought a new stake in shares of American Express during the first quarter valued at approximately $40,000. POM Investment Strategies LLC purchased a new position in American Express during the second quarter valued at $42,000. Founders Capital Management bought a new stake in shares of American Express during the 2nd quarter valued at $46,000. Finally, Beacon Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of American Express by 162.1% in the 1st quarter. Beacon Capital Management LLC now owns 228 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $52,000 after buying an additional 141 shares during the period. 84.33% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut shares of American Express from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $268.00 to $286.00 in a report on Monday, October 7th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on American Express from $285.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, September 30th. Compass Point initiated coverage on American Express in a report on Tuesday, July 16th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $260.00 target price on the stock. HSBC downgraded American Express from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and raised their price target for the company from $265.00 to $270.00 in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Finally, TD Cowen upped their price target on shares of American Express from $260.00 to $268.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have assigned a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $244.58.

American Express Trading Down 0.4 %

Shares of American Express stock opened at $271.22 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74, a current ratio of 1.66 and a quick ratio of 1.66. The stock has a market capitalization of $195.09 billion, a PE ratio of 22.34, a P/E/G ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 1.21. American Express has a 1-year low of $141.02 and a 1-year high of $286.36. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $263.16 and its 200-day simple moving average is $244.92.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, October 18th. The payment services company reported $3.49 earnings per share (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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.68 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $3.30 earnings per share. American Express’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that American Express will post 13.14 earnings per share for the current year.

American Express Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 8th. Shareholders 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 yield of 1.03%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 4th. American Express’s payout ratio is 23.06%.

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.