American Express (NYSE:AXP) is Gabelli Funds LLC’s 5th Largest Position

Gabelli Funds LLC lessened its stake in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 9.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 587,627 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 64,744 shares during the period. American Express makes up about 1.3% of Gabelli Funds LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 5th biggest position. Gabelli Funds LLC’s holdings in American Express were worth $174,402,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of American Express by 2.3% in 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 acquiring an additional 268,572 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its position in 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 purchasing an additional 95,927 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of American Express during the 4th quarter valued at about $1,785,867,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of 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 worth $1,151,080,000 after buying an additional 14,282 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB grew its holdings in American Express by 12.7% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,203,772 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $655,137,000 after acquiring an additional 247,864 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

American Express Stock Performance

Shares of American Express stock opened at $255.57 on Tuesday. 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’s 50 day moving average price is $277.72 and its 200 day moving average price is $288.30. The company has a market cap of $179.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.24, a PEG ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.16. American Express has a one year low of $216.51 and a one year high of $326.28.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last announced 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%. On average, research analysts predict 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 issued 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.28%. American Express’s dividend payout ratio is currently 23.41%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the company. Truist Financial decreased their price target on American Express from $350.00 to $343.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 4th. Monness Crespi & Hardt raised their price target on shares of American Express from $330.00 to $355.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Compass Point cut their price objective on shares of American Express from $325.00 to $309.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of American Express from $325.00 to $244.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Finally, BTIG Research lifted their price target on American Express from $266.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have issued a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $296.81.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Michael J. Angelakis bought 3,700 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 7th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $269.89 per share, with a total value of $998,593.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 3,700 shares in the company, valued at approximately $998,593. The trade was a ? increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Ravikumar Radhakrishnan sold 9,485 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $319.17, for a total transaction of $3,027,327.45. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 13,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,308,795. The trade was a 41.27 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

American Express 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.