Howard Grosfield Sells 8,134 Shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) Stock

American Express Company (NYSE:AXP) insider Howard Grosfield sold 8,134 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $346.73, for a total value of $2,820,301.82. Following the transaction, the insider owned 9,433 shares in the company, valued at $3,270,704.09. This trade represents a 46.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

American Express Stock Down 1.5%

AXP opened at $337.84 on Friday. American Express Company has a 12 month low of $220.43 and a 12 month high of $387.49. The business has a 50-day moving average of $367.05 and a two-hundred day moving average of $346.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.68, a current ratio of 1.59 and a quick ratio of 1.66. The stock has a market capitalization of $231.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 1.14.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last released its earnings results on Friday, January 30th. The payment services company reported $3.53 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.54 by ($0.01). American Express had a return on equity of 33.49% and a net margin of 15.00%.The company had revenue of ($17,139.00) million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $18.91 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $3.04 earnings per share. American Express’s revenue was up 10.5% on a year-over-year basis. American Express has set its FY 2026 guidance at 17.300-17.900 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that American Express Company will post 15.33 earnings per share for the current year.

American Express Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 2nd were paid a dividend of $0.82 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 2nd. This represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.0%. American Express’s payout ratio is currently 21.31%.

Key Stories Impacting American Express

Here are the key news stories impacting American Express this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Management set FY‑2026 guidance for revenue growth (~9–10%) and EPS of $17.30–$17.90 (midpoint above some analyst expectations), reinforcing the narrative of resilient premium card spending supporting earnings. AXP anticipates a strong 2026 profit (Yahoo)
• Positive Sentiment: Coverage pieces and a Seeking Alpha “rating upgrade” highlight AmEx as a steady compounder, calling out premium spend strength and steady guidance as reasons to consider the stock. Seeking Alpha: AXP rating upgrade
• Positive Sentiment: Corporate actions and marketing (expanded NBA partnership, ongoing premium card activation efforts) support brand engagement and higher‑yield customer spend—a longer‑term revenue positive. NBA and American Express partnership
• Positive Sentiment: Quarterly dividend was paid (maintains yield ~0.9%); steady capital return is supportive for income‑focused holders. MarketBeat AXP dividend details
• Neutral Sentiment: Company presented at the UBS Financial Services Conference — useful detail for modeling and analyst updates but not an immediate catalyst by itself. UBS presentation (Seeking Alpha)
• Neutral Sentiment: American Express issued new debt to boost funding — improves liquidity/funding flexibility but raises leverage and interest‑cost exposure; market impact depends on size/terms. AXP boosts funding with new debt issuances
• Negative Sentiment: Large insider sales: Ravikumar Radhakrishnan sold 15,000 shares (~$5.35M at ≈$356.58) and Howard Grosfield sold 8,134 shares (~$2.82M at ≈$346.73). Big, concentrated insider reductions can weigh on near‑term sentiment. Insider trades alert (InsiderTrades)
• Negative Sentiment: Shares have underperformed peers and fell in recent sessions (coverage citing CNBC/Benzinga), which can trigger sector rebalancing outflows and exacerbate declines. CNBC ‘Final Trades’ note (Benzinga)
• Negative Sentiment: Analysts have trimmed targets/ratings (Evercore/JPMorgan moves referenced), a reminder expectations are being modestly reset—analyst downgrades/target cuts can be immediate share‑price pressure. Analyst notes and PT changes (Benzinga)

Institutional Trading of American Express

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in AXP. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in American Express by 1.3% during the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 46,425,262 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $14,808,730,000 after buying an additional 581,369 shares during the period. State Street Corp increased its position in shares of American Express by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 29,464,868 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $10,900,528,000 after acquiring an additional 369,967 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of American Express by 11.1% in the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 13,487,316 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $4,282,984,000 after acquiring an additional 1,349,746 shares in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in American Express by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 9,023,482 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $3,338,238,000 after purchasing an additional 141,936 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Capital World Investors grew its stake in American Express by 46.7% during the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 7,515,675 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $2,780,424,000 after purchasing an additional 2,393,340 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on AXP shares. TD Cowen reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of American Express in a report on Thursday, January 8th. Weiss Ratings upgraded American Express from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Monday, December 29th. Barclays lifted their price objective on American Express from $355.00 to $367.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 6th. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on shares of American Express in a research report on Monday, December 8th. They set a “peer perform” rating for the company. Finally, Truist Financial cut their price target on shares of American Express from $420.00 to $400.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 2nd. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $354.78.

About American Express

American Express is a global financial services company primarily known for its payment card products, travel services and merchant network. Founded in 1850 as an express mail business, the company evolved through the 20th century into a payments and travel-focused organization. Its core activities include issuing consumer and commercial charge and credit cards, operating a global card acceptance and processing network, and providing travel-related services and customer loyalty programs.

American Express issues a range of products for individuals, small businesses and large corporations, including personal cards, business and corporate cards, and co‑brand partnerships with airlines, hotels and retailers.