American Express Company $AXP Shares Acquired by Country Trust Bank

Country Trust Bank lifted its stake in shares of American Express Company (NYSE:AXP) by 14.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 121,774 shares of the payment services company’s stock after buying an additional 14,931 shares during the quarter. Country Trust Bank’s holdings in American Express were worth $45,050,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its position in shares of American Express by 1.7% during the third quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 8,881,546 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $2,950,095,000 after buying an additional 146,586 shares in the last quarter. Capital World Investors grew its position in shares of American Express by 0.5% during the third quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 5,122,335 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $1,701,435,000 after buying an additional 24,297 shares in the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors grew its position in shares of American Express by 0.7% during the third quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 4,452,660 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $1,479,019,000 after buying an additional 29,331 shares in the last quarter. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main grew its position in shares of American Express by 13.9% during the second quarter. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main now owns 4,342,556 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $1,385,188,000 after buying an additional 530,967 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its position in shares of American Express by 27.0% during the third quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 3,970,416 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $1,310,515,000 after buying an additional 845,283 shares in the last quarter. 84.33% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

American Express Price Performance

AXP stock opened at $305.41 on Tuesday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $322.37 and a 200 day moving average price of $345.76. The stock has a market cap of $209.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.84, a PEG ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 1.13. American Express Company has a fifty-two week low of $220.43 and a fifty-two week high of $387.49. The company has a quick ratio of 1.58, a current ratio of 1.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.68.

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

American Express Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 8th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 3rd will be paid a $0.95 dividend. This is an increase from American Express’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.82. This represents a $3.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 2nd. American Express’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 24.69%.

Insider Transactions at American Express

In other American Express news, insider Howard Grosfield sold 8,134 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the sale, the insider owned 9,433 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,270,704.09. The trade was a 46.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Ravikumar Radhakrishnan sold 15,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $356.58, for a total value of $5,348,700.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 8,945 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,189,608.10. This represents a 62.64% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 73,944 shares of company stock worth $26,114,366 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on AXP shares. Truist Financial lowered their price objective on American Express from $400.00 to $360.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, March 23rd. Credit Suisse Group set a $328.00 price objective on American Express in a research report on Monday, January 12th. TD Cowen reissued a “hold” rating on shares of American Express in a research report on Thursday, January 8th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on American Express from $400.00 to $425.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 17th. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $395.00 target price on American Express in a research note on Tuesday, January 20th. Nine equities 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. According to MarketBeat.com, American Express has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $350.86.

American Express Profile

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.