Beck Mack & Oliver LLC Has $117.44 Million Stake in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Beck Mack & Oliver LLC grew its position in American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 0.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 395,693 shares of the payment services company’s stock after buying an additional 3,433 shares during the quarter. American Express accounts for about 2.2% of Beck Mack & Oliver LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 15th largest holding. Beck Mack & Oliver LLC’s holdings in American Express were worth $117,438,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in American Express by 2.3% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 11,752,084 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $3,484,312,000 after purchasing an additional 268,572 shares during the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of American Express by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 8,761,336 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $2,600,277,000 after buying an additional 95,927 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in American Express in the fourth quarter valued at about $1,785,867,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in American Express by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,878,434 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $1,151,080,000 after purchasing an additional 14,282 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Capital World Investors increased its holdings in shares of American Express by 2.1% during the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 3,704,271 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $1,099,391,000 after buying an additional 74,977 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

American Express Trading Down 0.6 %

Shares of AXP opened at $251.48 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $176.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64, a quick ratio of 1.57 and a current ratio of 1.58. The business has a 50-day moving average of $272.87 and a 200 day moving average of $287.59. American Express has a fifty-two week low of $218.84 and a fifty-two week high of $326.28.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 17th. The payment services company reported $3.64 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.47 by $0.17. American Express had a return on equity of 32.65% and a net margin of 15.36%. The firm had revenue of $16.97 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $17.04 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $3.33 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that American Express will post 15.33 EPS for the current year.

American Express Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 4th will be paid a $0.82 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 4th. This is a boost from American Express’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. This represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.30%. American Express’s dividend payout ratio is currently 23.41%.

Insider Buying and Selling at American Express

In other American Express news, Director Michael J. Angelakis purchased 3,700 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 7th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $269.89 per share, for a total transaction of $998,593.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 3,700 shares in the company, valued at $998,593. The trade was a ∞ increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Raymond Joabar sold 15,179 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 23,866 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,492,492.04. This trade represents a 38.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently commented on the company. Bank of America raised American Express from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and cut their price target for the company from $325.00 to $274.00 in a research note on Friday, April 11th. BTIG Research raised their price target on shares of American Express from $266.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. StockNews.com downgraded American Express from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on shares of American Express from $350.00 to $360.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Baird R W raised American Express from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, March 14th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have issued a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, American Express has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $294.90.

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.