Bramshill Investments LLC Makes New $445,000 Investment in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Bramshill Investments LLC acquired a new stake in American Express (NYSE:AXP - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund acquired 1,500 shares of the payment services company's stock, valued at approximately $445,000.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of American Express by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,142 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $636,000 after acquiring an additional 33 shares in the last quarter. Catalina Capital Group LLC increased its position in shares of American Express by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Catalina Capital Group LLC now owns 3,356 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $996,000 after purchasing an additional 34 shares in the last quarter. Boston Financial Mangement LLC lifted its holdings in shares of American Express by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Boston Financial Mangement LLC now owns 4,007 shares of the payment services company's stock valued at $1,189,000 after purchasing an additional 34 shares during the last quarter. Sunflower Bank N.A. boosted its position in shares of American Express by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Sunflower Bank N.A. now owns 4,054 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $1,203,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Foster & Motley Inc. grew its stake in American Express by 2.1% during the 4th quarter. Foster & Motley Inc. now owns 1,716 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $509,000 after buying an additional 35 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.33% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AXP has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. William Blair reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of American Express in a report on Monday, April 21st. Redburn Atlantic raised shares of American Express from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $270.00 to $255.00 in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Robert W. Baird raised shares of American Express from an "underperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $265.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Friday, March 14th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on American Express from $355.00 to $370.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on American Express from $305.00 to $310.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have given a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, American Express currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $295.05.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Howard Grosfield sold 9,450 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $275.50, for a total transaction of $2,603,475.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 9,402 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,590,251. This represents a 50.13 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Michael J. Angelakis purchased 3,700 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, March 7th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $269.89 per share, with a total value of $998,593.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 3,700 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $998,593. This represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 0.20% of the company's stock.

American Express Trading Up 0.3 %

Shares of American Express stock traded up $0.77 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $284.43. The stock had a trading volume of 2,704,444 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,830,352. The firm has a market cap of $199.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.23. The company has a quick ratio of 1.57, a current ratio of 1.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $263.18 and a two-hundred day moving average of $286.99. American Express has a 12-month low of $220.43 and a 12-month high of $326.28.

American Express (NYSE:AXP - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 17th. The payment services company reported $3.64 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.47 by $0.17. The company had revenue of $16.97 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $17.04 billion. American Express had a return on equity of 32.65% and a net margin of 15.36%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $3.33 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that American Express will post 15.33 earnings per share for the current year.

American Express Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 9th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 4th were paid a $0.82 dividend. This represents a $3.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.15%. This is an increase from American Express's previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. The ex-dividend date was Friday, April 4th. American Express's payout ratio is 22.91%.

About American Express

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.