Fulton Breakefield Broenniman LLC Has $14.94 Million Position in American Express Company $AXP

Fulton Breakefield Broenniman LLC raised its holdings in American Express Company (NYSE:AXP) by 0.5% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 46,840 shares of the payment services company’s stock after buying an additional 220 shares during the period. Fulton Breakefield Broenniman LLC’s holdings in American Express were worth $14,941,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Capital Asset Advisory Services LLC boosted its stake in shares of American Express by 2.8% in the 2nd quarter. Capital Asset Advisory Services LLC now owns 1,191 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $384,000 after purchasing an additional 32 shares during the last quarter. DLK Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of American Express by 3.8% in the 2nd quarter. DLK Investment Management LLC now owns 869 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $277,000 after purchasing an additional 32 shares during the last quarter. Financial Engines Advisors L.L.C. boosted its stake in shares of American Express by 4.7% in the 1st quarter. Financial Engines Advisors L.L.C. now owns 772 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $208,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares during the last quarter. Modern Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of American Express by 0.7% in the 1st quarter. Modern Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,921 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $1,324,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Greenfield Savings Bank boosted its stake in American Express by 0.3% during the second quarter. Greenfield Savings Bank now owns 13,116 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $4,184,000 after acquiring an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. 84.33% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently issued reports on AXP shares. William Blair reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of American Express in a research note on Wednesday, July 2nd. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of American Express from $330.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of American Express from $311.00 to $362.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, September 29th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of American Express from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on shares of American Express from $371.00 to $394.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 1st. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $323.55.

American Express Stock Down 1.3%

American Express stock opened at $323.86 on Thursday. American Express Company has a 1-year low of $220.43 and a 1-year high of $349.19. The firm has a market capitalization of $225.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.74 and a beta of 1.29. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $321.23 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $299.43. The company has a current ratio of 1.61, a quick ratio of 1.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80.

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

American Express Announces Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Vice Chairman Douglas E. Buckminster sold 23,505 shares of the 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 $40,343,574.81. This represents a 15.98% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Laureen Seeger sold 16,998 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $294.83, for a total transaction of $5,011,520.34. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 9,001 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,653,764.83. This represents a 65.38% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 269,996 shares of company stock valued at $85,261,270 over the last 90 days. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.