GFI Investment Counsel Ltd. Has $57.96 Million Stock Position in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

GFI Investment Counsel Ltd. grew its stake in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 4.0% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 195,292 shares of the payment services company’s stock after acquiring an additional 7,468 shares during the period. American Express accounts for about 6.7% of GFI Investment Counsel Ltd.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 9th biggest holding. GFI Investment Counsel Ltd.’s holdings in American Express were worth $57,961,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of AXP. True Wealth Design LLC raised its position in American Express by 332.0% during the 3rd quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 108 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 83 shares in the last quarter. Sellwood Investment Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of American Express in the fourth quarter valued at about $33,000. Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp purchased a new stake in American Express in the fourth quarter worth about $33,000. Curio Wealth LLC bought a new position in American Express during the 4th quarter worth about $37,000. Finally, Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. purchased a new position in American Express during the 3rd quarter valued at about $38,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

American Express Stock Up 1.4 %

AXP stock opened at $269.25 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $189.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.21. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $294.15 and its 200-day simple moving average is $289.78. American Express has a 12 month low of $214.51 and a 12 month 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.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 24th. The payment services company reported $3.04 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 research analysts forecast that American Express will post 15.33 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, May 9th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 4th will be given a $0.82 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 4th. This represents a $3.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.22%. This is an increase from American Express’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. American Express’s dividend payout ratio is 23.41%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AXP has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. William Blair reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of American Express in a research note on Monday, January 27th. BTIG Research lifted their price target on American Express from $266.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price target on American Express from $367.00 to $330.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, March 18th. Compass Point dropped their price objective on American Express from $325.00 to $309.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on shares of American Express from $330.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have given a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $302.57.

Insider Transactions at American Express

In other news, insider Ravikumar Radhakrishnan sold 9,485 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 13,500 shares in the company, valued at $4,308,795. The trade was a 41.27 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Michael J. Angelakis bought 3,700 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 7th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $269.89 per share, for a total transaction of $998,593.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 3,700 shares in the company, valued at approximately $998,593. This represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

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.