American Express (NYSE:AXP) is Beutel Goodman & Co Ltd.’s 7th Largest Position

Beutel Goodman & Co Ltd. reduced its holdings in American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 0.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,449,478 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 2,114 shares during the period. American Express comprises 2.3% of Beutel Goodman & Co Ltd.’s holdings, making the stock its 7th biggest position. Beutel Goodman & Co Ltd. owned about 0.21% of American Express worth $430,190,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in AXP. Allstate Corp acquired a new stake in American Express during the 4th quarter worth about $5,023,000. Maridea Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of American Express in the fourth quarter worth about $543,000. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. grew its holdings in American Express by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 41,690 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $12,373,000 after acquiring an additional 121 shares during the period. RiverFront Investment Group LLC raised its position in American Express by 34.2% during the fourth quarter. RiverFront Investment Group LLC now owns 1,451 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $431,000 after acquiring an additional 370 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Horizon Investment Services LLC lifted its holdings in American Express by 4.5% in the fourth quarter. Horizon Investment Services LLC now owns 15,211 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $4,515,000 after acquiring an additional 655 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at American Express

In other American Express news, insider Raymond Joabar sold 15,179 shares of American Express stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $313.94, for a total value of $4,765,295.26. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 23,866 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,492,492.04. The trade was a 38.88 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Michael J. Angelakis acquired 3,700 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 7th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $269.89 per share, with a total value of $998,593.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 3,700 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $998,593. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Company insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

American Express Trading Down 2.5 %

Shares of AXP opened at $265.16 on Friday. American Express has a 12-month low of $214.51 and a 12-month high of $326.28. The firm has a market capitalization of $186.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.93, a P/E/G ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.21. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $295.02 and a 200 day moving average price of $289.13. The company has a current ratio of 1.58, a quick ratio of 1.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64.

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

American Express Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Investors of record on Friday, April 4th will be given a dividend of $0.82 per share. This represents a $3.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.24%. This is an increase from American Express’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 4th. American Express’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 23.41%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AXP has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on shares of American Express from $330.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of American Express from $283.00 to $320.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, January 13th. Evercore ISI increased their target price on shares of American Express from $315.00 to $344.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on American Express from $305.00 to $310.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, HSBC upped their price target on American Express from $270.00 to $294.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have issued a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $302.57.

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.