Tweedy Browne Co LLC Has $24.87 Million Holdings in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Tweedy Browne Co LLC decreased its stake in American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 0.6% during the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 109,209 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 687 shares during the period. American Express accounts for approximately 1.2% of Tweedy Browne Co LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 16th largest position. Tweedy Browne Co LLC’s holdings in American Express were worth $24,866,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Scarborough Advisors LLC bought a new position in American Express in the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. BKM Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in American Express in the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Tennessee Valley Asset Management Partners bought a new position in American Express in the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Pacifica Partners Inc. bought a new position in American Express in the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. Finally, Baldwin Brothers LLC MA raised its position in American Express by 134.8% in the 4th quarter. Baldwin Brothers LLC MA now owns 155 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 89 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have issued reports on AXP shares. Barclays lifted their price objective on American Express from $221.00 to $223.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on American Express from $190.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 1st. HSBC boosted their target price on American Express from $232.00 to $239.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their target price on American Express from $240.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, April 22nd. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on American Express from $265.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, American Express has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $225.50.

American Express Trading Up 0.3 %

Shares of American Express stock traded up $0.77 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $239.52. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,103,722 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,988,217. American Express has a 12 month low of $140.91 and a 12 month high of $244.41. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $234.80 and a 200 day moving average of $219.28. The company has a market capitalization of $172.29 billion, a PE ratio of 19.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.36 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.70, a current ratio of 1.62 and a quick ratio of 1.62.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 19th. The payment services company reported $3.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.97 by $0.36. The business had revenue of $15.80 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.79 billion. American Express had a return on equity of 32.46% and a net margin of 14.50%. American Express’s quarterly revenue was up 10.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.40 earnings per share. Analysts predict that American Express will post 12.98 earnings per share for the current year.

American Express Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 9th. Investors of record on Friday, July 5th will be issued a dividend of $0.70 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, July 5th. This is an increase from American Express’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.10. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.17%. American Express’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 23.06%.

Insider Buying and Selling at American Express

In other news, insider Jennifer Skyler sold 14,802 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $241.73, for a total value of $3,578,087.46. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 16,371 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,957,361.83. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In related news, Vice Chairman Douglas E. Buckminster sold 117,309 shares of American Express stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $232.44, for a total transaction of $27,267,303.96. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 110,318 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $25,642,315.92. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Jennifer Skyler sold 14,802 shares of American Express stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $241.73, for a total value of $3,578,087.46. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 16,371 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,957,361.83. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 177,717 shares of company stock worth $41,680,999 over the last ninety days. 0.12% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

American Express Company 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.