Cohen Klingenstein LLC Reduces Position in American Express Company $AXP

Cohen Klingenstein LLC lessened its stake in American Express Company (NYSE:AXP) by 2.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 181,512 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 4,650 shares during the period. American Express makes up approximately 2.0% of Cohen Klingenstein LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 12th largest position. Cohen Klingenstein LLC’s holdings in American Express were worth $67,150,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Wealth Management Associates Inc. lifted its holdings in American Express by 12.1% in the 4th quarter. Wealth Management Associates Inc. now owns 888 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $328,000 after purchasing an additional 96 shares in the last quarter. Partners Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in American Express during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $239,000. Marino Stram & Associates LLC grew its holdings in American Express by 8.6% during the 4th quarter. Marino Stram & Associates LLC now owns 2,582 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $955,000 after buying an additional 205 shares in the last quarter. Perigon Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of American Express by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. Perigon Wealth Management LLC now owns 60,773 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $22,483,000 after buying an additional 723 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Balboa Wealth Partners lifted its holdings in shares of American Express by 2.7% in the fourth quarter. Balboa Wealth Partners now owns 7,206 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $2,666,000 after buying an additional 188 shares in the last quarter. 84.33% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at American Express

In other American Express news, insider Ravikumar Radhakrishnan sold 15,000 shares of American Express stock in a transaction on Monday, February 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $356.58, for a total transaction of $5,348,700.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 8,945 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,189,608.10. The trade was a 62.64% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Denise Pickett sold 23,385 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $356.91, for a total value of $8,346,340.35. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 7,754 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,767,480.14. This represents a 75.10% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 73,944 shares of company stock worth $26,114,366. Insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Truist Financial cut their target price on shares of American Express from $400.00 to $360.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, March 23rd. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of American Express in a research note on Friday, March 27th. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “buy” rating and set a $420.00 price objective on shares of American Express in a research report on Tuesday, January 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on American Express from $385.00 to $375.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 2nd. Finally, UBS Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $395.00 target price on shares of American Express in a research report on Wednesday, February 4th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirteen have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $352.95.

American Express Stock Up 0.0%

NYSE:AXP opened at $300.23 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $205.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 1.13. American Express Company has a twelve month low of $220.43 and a twelve month high of $387.49. 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 fifty day simple moving average of $323.53 and a 200-day simple moving average of $345.82.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 30th. The payment services company reported $3.53 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 analysts’ expectations of $18.91 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $3.04 EPS. The company’s quarterly 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. Analysts anticipate that American Express Company will post 15.33 EPS for the current year.

American Express Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 8th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 3rd will be paid a dividend of $0.95 per share. This is a boost from American Express’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.82. This represents a $3.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend 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.