Bretton Capital Management LLC Invests $6.27 Million in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Bretton Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP - Free Report) in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 23,100 shares of the payment services company's stock, valued at approximately $6,265,000. American Express comprises about 6.0% of Bretton Capital Management LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 5th biggest position.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Cetera Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of American Express by 119.6% in the 1st quarter. Cetera Advisors LLC now owns 39,497 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $8,993,000 after acquiring an additional 21,508 shares in the last quarter. Oliver Lagore Vanvalin Investment Group grew its stake in shares of American Express by 2,196.4% in the 2nd quarter. Oliver Lagore Vanvalin Investment Group now owns 8,244 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $1,909,000 after purchasing an additional 7,885 shares during the last quarter. XML Financial LLC lifted its position in shares of American Express by 9.8% during the 3rd quarter. XML Financial LLC now owns 1,127 shares of the payment services company's stock valued at $306,000 after acquiring an additional 101 shares during the last quarter. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC grew its holdings in shares of American Express by 49.0% in the 1st quarter. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC now owns 279,106 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $63,550,000 after acquiring an additional 91,760 shares during the last quarter. Finally, O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of American Express by 33.1% during the first quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 54,318 shares of the payment services company's stock valued at $12,368,000 after purchasing an additional 13,520 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.33% of the company's stock.

American Express Trading Up 0.2 %

AXP stock traded up $0.66 during trading on Thursday, hitting $288.30. The company had a trading volume of 2,795,802 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,907,457. The company has a current ratio of 1.63, a quick ratio of 1.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80. American Express has a one year low of $157.00 and a one year high of $296.83. The business has a 50-day moving average of $270.73 and a 200-day moving average of $250.49. The stock has a market cap of $203.09 billion, a PE ratio of 21.17, a PEG ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 1.21.

American Express (NYSE:AXP - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, October 18th. The payment services company reported $3.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.27 by $0.22. The firm had revenue of $16.64 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $16.68 billion. American Express had a return on equity of 32.46% and a net margin of 15.32%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 8.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $3.30 EPS. Research analysts predict that American Express will post 13.4 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Express Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 8th. Investors of record on Friday, October 4th were issued a $0.70 dividend. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.97%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, October 4th. American Express's dividend payout ratio is currently 20.60%.

Insider Buying and Selling at American Express

In related news, insider Anre D. Williams sold 77,887 shares of American Express stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $270.26, for a total value of $21,049,740.62. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 111,656 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $30,176,150.56. This trade represents a 41.09 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Vice Chairman Douglas E. Buckminster sold 13,111 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $270.98, for a total value of $3,552,818.78. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 109,691 shares in the company, valued at $29,724,067.18. This trade represents a 10.68 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.12% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of American Express from $285.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, September 30th. TD Cowen increased their target price on shares of American Express from $260.00 to $268.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. HSBC downgraded shares of American Express from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $265.00 to $270.00 in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Evercore ISI raised their target price on shares of American Express from $275.00 to $290.00 and gave the company an "in-line" rating in a research note on Monday, October 7th. Finally, Barclays raised their price objective on shares of American Express from $250.00 to $257.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $253.09.

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.