Clear Trail Advisors LLC Makes New Investment in American Express Company $AXP

Clear Trail Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in American Express Company (NYSE:AXP) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 13,517 shares of the payment services company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,001,000. American Express makes up 1.2% of Clear Trail Advisors LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 23rd largest position.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of AXP. Trajan Wealth LLC grew its position in shares of American Express by 30.9% in the third quarter. Trajan Wealth LLC now owns 24,901 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $8,271,000 after purchasing an additional 5,881 shares during the last quarter. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. raised its position in shares of American Express by 218.7% during the 3rd quarter. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. now owns 8,540 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $2,837,000 after purchasing an additional 5,860 shares during the last quarter. ZEGA Investments LLC purchased a new stake in American Express in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $1,080,000. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. lifted its stake in American Express by 0.3% in the 3rd quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 1,598,743 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $531,038,000 after buying an additional 4,080 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in American Express by 11.7% during the 3rd quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group Inc. now owns 82,863 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $27,524,000 after buying an additional 8,651 shares during the last quarter. 84.33% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently commented on AXP. Barclays increased 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. BTIG Research reduced their target price on shares of American Express from $328.00 to $285.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, March 16th. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $420.00 price target on shares of American Express in a research note on Tuesday, January 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on shares of American Express from $385.00 to $375.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 2nd. Finally, UBS Group reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $395.00 price objective on shares of American Express in a research report on Wednesday, February 4th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $352.95.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other American Express news, insider Howard Grosfield sold 8,134 shares of American Express stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $346.73, for a total transaction of $2,820,301.82. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 9,433 shares in the company, valued at $3,270,704.09. The trade was a 46.30% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Denise Pickett sold 23,385 shares of American Express stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $356.91, for a total transaction of $8,346,340.35. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 7,754 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,767,480.14. This trade represents a 75.10% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 73,944 shares of company stock worth $26,114,366. 0.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

American Express Price Performance

AXP stock opened at $301.87 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $207.27 billion, a PE ratio of 19.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 1.14. The company has a current ratio of 1.59, a quick ratio of 1.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.68. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $334.49 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $347.78. American Express Company has a 12-month low of $220.43 and a 12-month high of $387.49.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 business had revenue of ($17,139.00) million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $18.91 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $3.04 EPS. 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. As a group, research analysts predict that American Express Company 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 8th. Investors of record on Friday, April 3rd will be paid a $0.95 dividend. This represents a $3.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.3%. This is a positive change from American Express’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.82. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 2nd. American Express’s payout ratio is presently 24.69%.

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.