Brookstone Capital Management Buys 9,483 Shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Brookstone Capital Management boosted its position in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 15.4% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 71,181 shares of the payment services company’s stock after purchasing an additional 9,483 shares during the quarter. Brookstone Capital Management’s holdings in American Express were worth $17,792,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of American Express by 27.1% during the second quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 5,395 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $1,228,000 after purchasing an additional 1,151 shares during the period. Old Port Advisors bought a new stake in American Express during the second quarter worth about $241,000. Sawgrass Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in American Express by 0.4% in the 2nd quarter. Sawgrass Asset Management LLC now owns 10,384 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $2,404,000 after buying an additional 41 shares during the period. JLB & Associates Inc. lifted its holdings in American Express by 42.2% in the second quarter. JLB & Associates Inc. now owns 17,424 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $4,035,000 after buying an additional 5,168 shares during the period. Finally, Silver Lake Advisory LLC increased its position in shares of American Express by 8.3% during the second quarter. Silver Lake Advisory LLC now owns 2,507 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $581,000 after acquiring an additional 192 shares in the last quarter. 84.33% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

American Express Price Performance

Shares of American Express stock traded up $2.21 during trading on Friday, hitting $251.71. 2,149,718 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,002,593. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $237.19 and its 200 day moving average price is $229.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74, a current ratio of 1.66 and a quick ratio of 1.66. American Express has a twelve month low of $140.91 and a twelve month high of $256.24. The company has a market cap of $181.06 billion, a PE ratio of 20.73, a PEG ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 1.21.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, July 19th. The payment services company reported $3.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.26 by $0.23. The business had revenue of $16.33 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.60 billion. American Express had a return on equity of 32.94% and a net margin of 15.53%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.89 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that American Express will post 13.24 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AXP has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. BTIG Research initiated coverage on shares of American Express in a research note on Friday, June 7th. They set a “neutral” rating on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on American Express from $225.00 to $235.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 9th. Citigroup assumed coverage on American Express in a research report on Monday, June 10th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $250.00 target price on the stock. StockNews.com upgraded shares of American Express from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 23rd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on American Express from $167.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research report on Monday, April 22nd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, American Express has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $230.70.

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.