Bank of Montreal Can Acquires 45,524 Shares of American Express Company $AXP

Bank of Montreal Can boosted its holdings in shares of American Express Company (NYSE:AXP) by 4.8% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 993,828 shares of the payment services company’s stock after purchasing an additional 45,524 shares during the period. Bank of Montreal Can owned about 0.14% of American Express worth $330,110,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AXP. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. grew its stake in shares of American Express by 153.3% in the 3rd quarter. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. now owns 76 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 46 shares during the period. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of American Express during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Guerra Advisors Inc acquired a new stake in American Express in the 3rd quarter valued at $28,000. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC boosted its stake in American Express by 210.7% in the 3rd quarter. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC now owns 87 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 59 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Grey Fox Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in American Express in the third quarter valued at $34,000. 84.33% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on AXP shares. Credit Suisse Group set a $328.00 target price on shares of American Express in a research note on Monday, January 12th. Barclays increased their target price on shares of American Express from $355.00 to $367.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 6th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of American Express from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Morgan Stanley set a $395.00 price objective on shares of American Express in a research note on Tuesday, January 20th. Finally, Truist Financial dropped their price objective on shares of American Express from $420.00 to $400.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 2nd. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fifteen have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $352.73.

Insider Activity at American Express

In related news, insider Howard Grosfield sold 8,134 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 12th. The shares were 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $3,270,704.09. This trade represents a 46.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Ravikumar Radhakrishnan sold 15,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the insider owned 8,945 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,189,608.10. This trade represents a 62.64% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 73,944 shares of company stock valued at $26,114,366 over the last three months. 0.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

American Express Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:AXP opened at $305.56 on Tuesday. The business has a fifty day moving average of $349.51 and a 200-day moving average of $349.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.68, a quick ratio of 1.58 and a current ratio of 1.59. American Express Company has a twelve month low of $220.43 and a twelve month high of $387.49. The firm has a market cap of $209.80 billion, a PE ratio of 19.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 1.15.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last issued its quarterly 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $18.91 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $3.04 EPS. The firm’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. On average, equities research analysts predict that American Express Company will post 15.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Express Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 8th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 3rd will be given a dividend of $0.95 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 2nd. This is a positive change from American Express’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.82. This represents a $3.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.2%. American Express’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 21.31%.

American Express Company 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.