American Express (NYSE:AXP) Holdings Trimmed by Gamco Investors INC. ET AL

Gamco Investors INC. ET AL cut its stake in American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 6.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 514,187 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 33,526 shares during the period. American Express comprises about 1.6% of Gamco Investors INC. ET AL’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 5th largest position. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL’s holdings in American Express were worth $152,606,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. bought a new position in American Express in the fourth quarter worth about $832,000. World Investment Advisors LLC raised its stake in American Express by 430.6% in the third quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC now owns 4,765 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $1,292,000 after buying an additional 3,867 shares during the last quarter. Keybank National Association OH boosted its holdings in American Express by 3.7% in the fourth quarter. Keybank National Association OH now owns 349,937 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $103,858,000 after acquiring an additional 12,364 shares in the last quarter. LVM Capital Management Ltd. MI grew its stake in shares of American Express by 3.1% during the fourth quarter. LVM Capital Management Ltd. MI now owns 86,344 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $25,626,000 after acquiring an additional 2,557 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Edge Capital Group LLC grew its stake in shares of American Express by 20.9% during the fourth quarter. Edge Capital Group LLC now owns 6,451 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $1,915,000 after acquiring an additional 1,113 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have weighed in on the stock. Compass Point dropped their target price on shares of American Express from $325.00 to $309.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on American Express from $350.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Bank of America upgraded American Express from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $325.00 to $274.00 in a research note on Friday. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of American Express from $305.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Citigroup decreased their price objective on American Express from $320.00 to $300.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 24th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have assigned a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $296.81.

Insider Buying and Selling at American Express

In related news, Director Michael J. Angelakis acquired 3,700 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 7th. The shares were bought at an average price of $269.89 per share, with a total value of $998,593.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 3,700 shares in the company, valued at $998,593. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Raymond Joabar sold 15,179 shares of American Express stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $313.94, for a total transaction of $4,765,295.26. Following the sale, the insider now owns 23,866 shares in the company, valued at $7,492,492.04. This represents a 38.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

American Express Price Performance

NYSE:AXP opened at $255.57 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $179.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.24, a P/E/G ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.16. American Express has a 52 week low of $216.51 and a 52 week high of $326.28. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $277.72 and its two-hundred day moving average is $288.30. The company has a quick ratio of 1.57, a current ratio of 1.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 24th. The payment services company reported $3.04 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.00 by $0.04. American Express had a net margin of 15.36% and a return on equity of 32.65%. Equities analysts expect that American Express will post 15.33 EPS for the current year.

American Express Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Investors of record on Friday, April 4th will be paid a dividend of $0.82 per share. This is an increase from American Express’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. This represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.28%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 4th. American Express’s dividend payout ratio is presently 23.41%.

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.