Brucke Financial Inc. Cuts Stock Holdings in American Express Company $AXP

Brucke Financial Inc. decreased its position in shares of American Express Company (NYSE:AXP) by 7.3% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,071 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 243 shares during the quarter. American Express accounts for 0.7% of Brucke Financial Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 29th largest position. Brucke Financial Inc.’s holdings in American Express were worth $980,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in American Express by 5.5% in the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 680,308 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $183,037,000 after purchasing an additional 35,295 shares during the last quarter. Pinnacle Financial Partners Inc raised its position in shares of American Express by 1.4% during the 1st quarter. Pinnacle Financial Partners Inc now owns 167,534 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $45,243,000 after purchasing an additional 2,259 shares during the period. R Squared Ltd bought a new stake in shares of American Express during the 1st quarter valued at $509,000. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. raised its position in shares of American Express by 6.4% during the 1st quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 94,458 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $25,088,000 after purchasing an additional 5,693 shares during the period. Finally, Navis Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of American Express by 368.7% during the 1st quarter. Navis Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,548 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $955,000 after purchasing an additional 2,791 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

American Express Price Performance

AXP stock opened at $316.27 on Friday. American Express Company has a 12 month low of $220.43 and a 12 month high of $349.19. The company has a current ratio of 1.61, a quick ratio of 1.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $322.16 and a 200 day moving average price of $300.00. The stock has a market cap of $220.09 billion, a PE ratio of 22.19, a P/E/G ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.29.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, July 18th. The payment services company reported $4.08 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.86 by $0.22. American Express had a net margin of 14.78% and a return on equity of 32.87%. The firm had revenue of $17.86 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $17.70 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $3.49 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that American Express Company will post 15.33 earnings per share for the current year.

American Express Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 10th will be given a $0.82 dividend. This represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 10th. American Express’s payout ratio is 23.02%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AXP has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. HSBC set a $295.00 price objective on shares of American Express and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday. Monness Crespi & Hardt downgraded shares of American Express from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of American Express from $330.00 to $340.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday. DZ Bank downgraded shares of American Express from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Monday, July 21st. Finally, William Blair reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of American Express in a report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirteen have given a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $323.60.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Vice Chairman Douglas E. Buckminster sold 23,505 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $326.37, for a total value of $7,671,326.85. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 123,613 shares in the company, valued at approximately $40,343,574.81. The trade was a 15.98% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Anna Marrs sold 5,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $310.77, for a total transaction of $1,709,235.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 20,311 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,312,049.47. This represents a 21.31% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 269,996 shares of company stock worth $85,261,270 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

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.