Stonebrook Private Inc. Makes New $1.05 Million Investment in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Stonebrook Private Inc. purchased a new position in American Express (NYSE:AXP) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 5,586 shares of the payment services company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,047,000.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. BKM Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of American Express in the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. Tennessee Valley Asset Management Partners purchased a new stake in shares of American Express in the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. BluePath Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of American Express in the 3rd quarter worth about $29,000. Pacifica Partners Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of American Express in the 4th quarter worth about $29,000. Finally, Baldwin Brothers LLC MA lifted its position in shares of American Express by 134.8% in the 4th quarter. Baldwin Brothers LLC MA now owns 155 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 89 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at American Express

In other American Express news, insider Howard Grosfield sold 7,029 shares of American Express stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $203.65, for a total transaction of $1,431,455.85. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 12,388 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,522,816.20. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other American Express news, insider Howard Grosfield sold 7,029 shares of American Express stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $203.65, for a total transaction of $1,431,455.85. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 12,388 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,522,816.20. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Stephen J. Squeri sold 69,356 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $213.02, for a total transaction of $14,774,215.12. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 122,158 shares in the company, valued at approximately $26,022,097.16. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 210,920 shares of company stock valued at $45,804,652 over the last 90 days. 0.12% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

American Express Stock Performance

NYSE AXP traded down $1.46 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $235.64. 2,993,335 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,154,841. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $222.57 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $191.74. The company has a current ratio of 1.62, a quick ratio of 1.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.70. The firm has a market capitalization of $169.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.41, a P/E/G ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 1.23. American Express has a 52 week low of $140.91 and a 52 week high of $240.55.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last announced its earnings results on Friday, April 19th. The payment services company reported $3.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.97 by $0.36. The company had revenue of $15.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.79 billion. American Express had a net margin of 14.50% and a return on equity of 32.46%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 10.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.40 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that American Express will post 12.99 EPS for the current year.

American Express Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 5th will be issued a dividend of $0.10 per share. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.17%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 4th. American Express’s dividend payout ratio is currently 23.06%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently commented on AXP. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of American Express from $250.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Robert W. Baird cut shares of American Express from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating and set a $190.00 price target for the company. in a research report on Monday, January 8th. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on shares of American Express from $243.00 to $255.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research report on Wednesday. William Blair reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of American Express in a research report on Friday. Finally, Barclays reissued an “equal weight” rating and set a $221.00 price target (up from $220.00) on shares of American Express in a research report on Tuesday, April 9th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $209.52.

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.