American Express (NYSE:AXP) Position Reduced by Gamco Investors INC. ET AL

Gamco Investors INC. ET AL trimmed its position in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP - Free Report) by 6.1% in the 4th 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 1.6% of Gamco Investors INC. ET AL's portfolio, making the stock its 5th largest position. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL owned 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 modified their holdings of the company. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in American Express by 2.3% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 11,752,084 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $3,484,312,000 after buying an additional 268,572 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of American Express by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 8,761,336 shares of the payment services company's stock valued at $2,600,277,000 after acquiring an additional 95,927 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in American Express in the fourth quarter worth $1,785,867,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in American Express by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,878,434 shares of the payment services company's stock valued at $1,151,080,000 after acquiring an additional 14,282 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB increased its position in American Express by 12.7% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,203,772 shares of the payment services company's stock valued at $655,137,000 after purchasing an additional 247,864 shares during the period. 84.33% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Ravikumar Radhakrishnan sold 9,485 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $319.17, for a total transaction of $3,027,327.45. Following the sale, the insider now owns 13,500 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,308,795. This represents a 41.27 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Michael J. Angelakis purchased 3,700 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 7th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $269.89 per share, with a total value of $998,593.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now 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 currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on AXP. StockNews.com lowered American Express from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price objective on American Express from $367.00 to $330.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, March 18th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on American Express from $355.00 to $370.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on American Express from $350.00 to $360.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Baird R W upgraded American Express from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, March 14th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have given a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $294.90.

American Express Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:AXP traded down $1.44 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $251.48. 3,906,748 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,867,825. The company has a current ratio of 1.58, a quick ratio of 1.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64. The stock has a market cap of $176.67 billion, a PE ratio of 17.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.16. The business's fifty day moving average is $272.87 and its two-hundred day moving average is $287.71. American Express has a one year low of $220.43 and a one year high of $326.28.

American Express (NYSE:AXP - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 17th. The payment services company reported $3.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $17.04 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $3.33 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that American Express will post 15.33 earnings per share 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 issued a $0.82 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 4th. This is a positive change from American Express's previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. This represents a $3.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.30%. American Express's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 22.91%.

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.