U S Global Investors Inc. Boosts Holdings in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

U S Global Investors Inc. boosted its position in American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 66.7% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 3,500 shares of the payment services company’s stock after buying an additional 1,400 shares during the period. U S Global Investors Inc.’s holdings in American Express were worth $949,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. DHJJ Financial Advisors Ltd. boosted its position in shares of American Express by 42.2% during 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 in the last quarter. Riverview Trust Co purchased a new stake in shares of American Express in the 1st quarter worth about $38,000. BNP Paribas acquired a new position in American Express in the 1st quarter valued at about $40,000. POM Investment Strategies LLC acquired a new position in American Express in the 2nd quarter valued at about $42,000. Finally, Founders Capital Management acquired a new position in American Express in the 2nd quarter valued at about $46,000. 84.33% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

American Express Stock Performance

AXP traded down $1.82 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $268.92. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 203,306 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,922,638. American Express has a twelve month low of $140.91 and a twelve month high of $286.36. The stock has a market cap of $193.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.30, a PEG ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $261.94 and a 200 day simple moving average of $244.38. The company has a current ratio of 1.66, a quick ratio of 1.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last announced its quarterly 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 analyst estimates of $16.68 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $3.30 EPS. American Express’s quarterly revenue was up 8.2% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that American Express will post 13.14 earnings per share for the current year.

American Express Dividend Announcement

The firm 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 is Friday, October 4th. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.04%. American Express’s payout ratio is 23.06%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently weighed in on AXP shares. BTIG Research downgraded shares of American Express from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $230.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on shares of American Express from $265.00 to $267.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, July 22nd. TD Cowen boosted their target price on shares of American Express from $260.00 to $268.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday. HSBC downgraded shares of American Express from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $265.00 to $270.00 in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded shares of American Express from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $268.00 to $286.00 in a research note on Monday, October 7th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have issued a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $244.58.

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.