Brooks Moore & Associates Inc. Has $1.16 Million Stock Position in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Brooks Moore & Associates Inc. trimmed its position in American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 6.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 3,923 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 250 shares during the period. Brooks Moore & Associates Inc.’s holdings in American Express were worth $1,164,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of AXP. Bramshill Investments LLC acquired a new position in shares of American Express in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $445,000. Cary Street Partners Financial LLC bought a new stake in American Express during the 4th quarter worth approximately $7,446,000. Caxton Associates LP acquired a new position in American Express in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,358,000. Chapman Financial Group LLC bought a new position in shares of American Express during the fourth quarter valued at $917,000. Finally, Brown Advisory Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of American Express by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. now owns 552,517 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $163,982,000 after purchasing an additional 7,493 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

American Express Price Performance

Shares of NYSE AXP opened at $278.02 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.58, a quick ratio of 1.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $264.23 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $286.97. American Express has a 1-year low of $220.43 and a 1-year high of $326.28. The firm has a market cap of $194.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.23.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 17th. The payment services company reported $3.64 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.47 by $0.17. American Express had a return on equity of 32.65% and a net margin of 15.36%. The company had revenue of $16.97 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $17.04 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $3.33 EPS. Analysts anticipate that American Express will post 15.33 earnings per share for the current year.

American Express Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 4th will be given a $0.82 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 4th. This represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.18%. This is a positive change from American Express’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. American Express’s payout ratio is 22.91%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently issued reports on AXP shares. Compass Point lowered their target price on American Express from $325.00 to $309.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on American Express from $315.00 to $344.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Robert W. Baird upgraded American Express from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $265.00 target price on the stock in a report on Friday, March 14th. William Blair reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of American Express in a research report on Monday, April 21st. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of American Express from $283.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, January 13th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have assigned a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, American Express presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $295.05.

Insider Activity at American Express

In other American Express news, insider Glenda G. Mcneal sold 3,019 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $264.66, for a total transaction of $799,008.54. Following the sale, the insider now owns 10,919 shares in the company, valued at $2,889,822.54. This represents a 21.66 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Michael J. Angelakis acquired 3,700 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 7th. The shares were bought at an average price of $269.89 per share, for a total transaction of $998,593.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 3,700 shares in the company, valued at $998,593. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.