5 Best Stocks to Buy According to Billionaire Mario Gabelli

2. American Express Company (NYSE: AXP)

Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 52

American Express Company (NYSE: AXP) is placed second on our list of 10 best stocks to buy according to billionaire Mario Gabelli. The company operates from New York and markets payments services. Gabelli, through GAMCO Investors, owned over 1 million shares in the firm at the end of the second quarter of 2021. These are worth $168 million and represent 1.42% of the portfolio. GAMCO has trimmed stake in the company by 3% compared to the first three months of the year. 

On July 26, investment advisory Deutsche Bank maintained a Buy rating on American Express Company (NYSE: AXP) stock and raised the price target to $190 from $185, noting that the firm had posted a momentum building quarter. 

Out of the hedge funds being tracked by Insider Monkey, Washington-based firm Fisher Asset Management is a leading shareholder in American Express Company (NYSE: AXP) with 15.3 million shares worth more than $2.5 billion. 

In its Q2 2021 investor letter, ClearBridge Investments, an asset management firm, highlighted a few stocks and American Express Company (NYSE: AXP) was one of them. Here is what the fund said:

“In financials, American Express has done an excellent job demonstrating the resiliency of its franchise in the midst of a global pandemic that drove a 60% decline in its core travel and entertainment business. The company’s spend-centric model has been helped by fiscal stimulus ensuring a flush consumer, while management continues to execute well by adding millions of new consumer and small and medium business accounts, which should benefit the franchise over the medium to long term. We remain optimistic regarding the company’s prospects as travel and entertainment activity rebounds, adding to our position in the quarter.”