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

Brookstone Capital Management decreased its holdings in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 4.6% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 16,448 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 787 shares during the period. Brookstone Capital Management’s holdings in American Express were worth $2,793,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Symmetry Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of American Express by 5.5% in the second quarter. Symmetry Partners LLC now owns 7,193 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $1,253,000 after buying an additional 376 shares during the period. Signaturefd LLC boosted its position in shares of American Express by 7.6% in the first quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 10,330 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $1,704,000 after purchasing an additional 726 shares during the period. First National Bank of Hutchinson increased its stake in shares of American Express by 6.5% in the first quarter. First National Bank of Hutchinson now owns 4,100 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $676,000 after purchasing an additional 249 shares in the last quarter. Altfest L J & Co. Inc. raised its position in shares of American Express by 7.3% during the 1st quarter. Altfest L J & Co. Inc. now owns 3,199 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $528,000 after purchasing an additional 219 shares during the period. Finally, Shelton Capital Management lifted its stake in shares of American Express by 206.7% during the 1st quarter. Shelton Capital Management now owns 5,520 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $910,000 after buying an additional 3,720 shares in the last quarter. 83.08% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have commented on AXP. 58.com reissued a “reiterates” rating on shares of American Express in a report on Friday, June 30th. 22nd Century Group reaffirmed a “reiterates” rating on shares of American Express in a report on Friday, June 30th. Robert W. Baird downgraded shares of American Express from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $185.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Thursday, July 6th. 51job reiterated a “reiterates” rating on shares of American Express in a report on Friday, June 30th. Finally, Oppenheimer increased their price objective on shares of American Express from $180.00 to $193.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 18th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, American Express has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $173.06.

American Express Trading Down 2.5 %

Shares of AXP opened at $159.63 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $117.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.24, a P/E/G ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 1.19. American Express has a twelve month low of $130.65 and a twelve month high of $182.15. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $164.69 and its 200-day simple moving average is $163.63. The company has a current ratio of 1.59, a quick ratio of 1.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.75.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last announced its earnings results on Friday, July 21st. The payment services company reported $2.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.81 by $0.08. American Express had a return on equity of 29.26% and a net margin of 12.99%. The business had revenue of $15.05 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.41 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.57 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts expect that American Express will post 11.13 EPS for the current year.

About American Express

American Express Company, together with its subsidiaries, provides charge and credit payment card products, and travel-related services worldwide. The company operates through three segments: Global Consumer Services Group, Global Commercial Services, and Global Merchant and Network Services. Its products and services include payment and financing products; network services; accounts payable expense management products and services; and travel and lifestyle services.