Brookstone Capital Management Buys 3,471 Shares of American Express Company $AXP

Brookstone Capital Management raised its stake in shares of American Express Company (NYSE:AXP) by 6.4% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 57,829 shares of the payment services company’s stock after buying an additional 3,471 shares during the quarter. Brookstone Capital Management’s holdings in American Express were worth $19,208,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Access Investment Management LLC bought a new position in American Express in the 2nd quarter worth about $26,000. Briaud Financial Planning Inc bought a new position in shares of American Express in the second quarter worth approximately $26,000. Chung Wu Investment Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of American Express during the second quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Howard Hughes Medical Institute bought a new stake in shares of American Express during the second quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Finally, Solstein Capital LLC purchased a new position in American Express in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $39,000. 84.33% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AXP has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. UBS Group increased their target price on American Express from $330.00 to $340.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 7th. Morgan Stanley set a $370.00 price target on American Express in a report on Tuesday, December 16th. DZ Bank upgraded American Express from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $340.00 price objective for the company in a report on Tuesday, October 21st. Barclays boosted their target price on American Express from $336.00 to $355.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 20th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on shares of American Express from $371.00 to $394.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 1st. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, sixteen have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, American Express presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $335.55.

American Express Trading Up 0.1%

Shares of NYSE:AXP opened at $382.75 on Thursday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $363.32 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $333.00. The stock has a market capitalization of $263.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.69, a PEG ratio of 1.82 and a beta of 1.14. American Express Company has a 52-week low of $220.43 and a 52-week high of $387.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.78, a quick ratio of 1.59 and a current ratio of 1.61.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 30th. The payment services company reported ($11.85) EPS for the quarter. The business had revenue of ($17,139.00) million for the quarter. American Express had a net margin of 14.97% and a return on equity of 33.41%. Analysts expect that American Express Company will post 15.33 EPS for the current year.

American Express Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 2nd will be given a $0.82 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 2nd. This represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.9%. American Express’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 22.01%.

Insider Transactions at American Express

In other news, insider Douglas Tabish sold 2,515 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $355.61, for a total transaction of $894,359.15. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 2,515 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $894,359.15. The trade was a 50.00% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CMO Elizabeth Rutledge sold 50,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, October 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $360.21, for a total value of $18,010,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief marketing officer directly owned 85,577 shares in the company, valued at approximately $30,825,691.17. This represents a 36.88% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 57,515 shares of company stock worth $20,658,509 in the last 90 days. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

American Express Company Profile

American Express is a global financial services company primarily known for its payment card products, travel services and merchant network. Founded in 1850 as an express mail business, the company evolved through the 20th century into a payments and travel-focused organization. Its core activities include issuing consumer and commercial charge and credit cards, operating a global card acceptance and processing network, and providing travel-related services and customer loyalty programs.

American Express issues a range of products for individuals, small businesses and large corporations, including personal cards, business and corporate cards, and co‑brand partnerships with airlines, hotels and retailers.