Tweedy Browne Co LLC Has $26.58 Million Stock Position in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Tweedy Browne Co LLC reduced its stake in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 10.5% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 89,548 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 10,489 shares during the quarter. American Express makes up 1.8% of Tweedy Browne Co LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 14th largest holding. Tweedy Browne Co LLC’s holdings in American Express were worth $26,577,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in American Express by 2.3% during 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 buying an additional 268,572 shares in the last quarter. GFI Investment Counsel Ltd. lifted its position in shares of American Express by 4.0% in the 4th quarter. GFI Investment Counsel Ltd. now owns 195,292 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $57,961,000 after acquiring an additional 7,468 shares during the period. HighPoint Advisor Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of American Express by 3.8% during the 4th quarter. HighPoint Advisor Group LLC now owns 31,413 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $9,724,000 after purchasing an additional 1,143 shares in the last quarter. Meridian Investment Counsel Inc. bought a new stake in shares of American Express during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $268,000. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its position in American Express by 2.7% in the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 591,437 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $175,532,000 after purchasing an additional 15,468 shares during the period. 84.33% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AXP has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Baird R W upgraded shares of American Express from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, March 14th. BTIG Research increased their price target on shares of American Express from $266.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on shares of American Express from $350.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Evercore ISI upped 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. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on American Express from $301.00 to $307.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have assigned a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, American Express currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $302.57.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Raymond Joabar sold 15,179 shares of the company’s 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 sale, the insider now owns 23,866 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,492,492.04. This represents a 38.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Ravikumar Radhakrishnan sold 9,485 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $319.17, for a total value of $3,027,327.45. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 13,500 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,308,795. This trade represents 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 insiders.

American Express Stock Performance

AXP stock opened at $269.25 on Tuesday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $294.15 and a 200 day moving average price of $289.78. American Express has a fifty-two week low of $214.51 and a fifty-two week high of $326.28. 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 $189.16 billion, a PE ratio of 19.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.21.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last released its earnings results on Friday, January 24th. The payment services company reported $3.04 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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%. Analysts forecast that American Express will post 15.33 EPS for the current year.

American Express Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 4th will be given a dividend of $0.82 per share. This is a boost from American Express’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 4th. This represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.22%. 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.