Brookstone Capital Management Raises Stake in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Brookstone Capital Management raised its holdings in American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 4.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 81,953 shares of the payment services company’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,672 shares during the period. Brookstone Capital Management’s holdings in American Express were worth $24,323,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Prospera Private Wealth LLC purchased a new position in American Express during the third quarter valued at $27,000. Kennebec Savings Bank bought a new position in American Express in the third quarter valued at about $29,000. True Wealth Design LLC lifted its holdings in American Express by 332.0% in the third quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 108 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 83 shares during the period. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. bought a new position in shares of American Express in the third quarter worth about $38,000. Finally, Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of American Express in the third quarter worth about $46,000. 84.33% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at American Express

In related news, insider Anre D. Williams sold 77,887 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $270.26, for a total value of $21,049,740.62. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 111,656 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $30,176,150.56. This represents a 41.09 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Caillec Christophe Le sold 6,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $303.48, for a total value of $1,820,880.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 6,433 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,952,286.84. The trade was a 48.26 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 96,998 shares of company stock worth $26,423,439 over the last quarter. 0.12% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

American Express Stock Up 0.6 %

AXP stock traded up $1.70 on Monday, hitting $295.00. 421,965 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,970,599. American Express has a 12-month low of $177.81 and a 12-month high of $307.82. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $296.88 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $269.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80, a quick ratio of 1.63 and a current ratio of 1.63. The stock has a market cap of $207.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 1.23.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last announced its earnings results on Friday, October 18th. The payment services company reported $3.49 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.27 by $0.22. The firm had revenue of $16.64 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.68 billion. American Express had a return on equity of 32.46% and a net margin of 15.32%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $3.30 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that American Express will post 13.4 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Express Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 3rd will be paid a $0.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 3rd. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.95%. American Express’s payout ratio is 20.60%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently issued reports on AXP shares. Barclays lifted their target price on American Express from $250.00 to $257.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on American Express from $325.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. StockNews.com upgraded American Express from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday. Monness Crespi & Hardt lifted their target price on American Express from $300.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on American Express from $286.00 to $301.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $272.64.

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.