American Express (NYSE:AXP) is Gamco Investors INC. ET AL’s 5th Largest Position

Gamco Investors INC. ET AL trimmed its holdings in American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 6.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 514,187 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 33,526 shares during the quarter. American Express accounts for about 1.6% of Gamco Investors INC. ET AL’s holdings, making the stock its 5th biggest holding. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL owned approximately 0.07% of American Express worth $152,606,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in AXP. Sellwood Investment Partners LLC bought a new stake in American Express in the fourth quarter worth $33,000. Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp purchased a new position in shares of American Express in the fourth quarter worth about $33,000. Curio Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of American Express in the 4th quarter valued at about $37,000. Financial Life Planners purchased a new stake in American Express during the 4th quarter valued at about $38,000. Finally, Sierra Ocean LLC bought a new position in American Express during the 4th quarter worth approximately $40,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on AXP shares. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on American Express from $315.00 to $344.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Baird R W raised American Express from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, March 14th. HSBC lifted their price objective on American Express from $270.00 to $294.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on American Express from $355.00 to $370.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price target 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. Two equities 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $296.81.

Insider Activity at American Express

In other news, insider Raymond Joabar sold 15,179 shares of the firm’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 value of $4,765,295.26. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 23,866 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,492,492.04. This trade represents a 38.88 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Michael J. Angelakis purchased 3,700 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 7th. The shares were bought at an average price of $269.89 per share, for a total transaction of $998,593.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 3,700 shares in the company, valued at $998,593. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

American Express Trading Up 1.8 %

Shares of American Express stock opened at $255.57 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64, a current ratio of 1.58 and a quick ratio of 1.57. The stock has a market capitalization of $179.55 billion, a PE ratio of 18.24, a P/E/G ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.16. American Express has a 1-year low of $216.51 and a 1-year high of $326.28. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $277.72 and its 200-day simple moving average is $288.30.

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

American Express Increases Dividend

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

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.