Bank of Nova Scotia Boosts Position in American Express Company $AXP

Bank of Nova Scotia boosted its holdings in American Express Company (NYSE:AXP) by 59.9% in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 198,430 shares of the payment services company’s stock after purchasing an additional 74,325 shares during the quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia’s holdings in American Express were worth $65,910,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AXP has been the subject of several research reports. Credit Suisse Group set a $328.00 target price on American Express in a report on Monday, January 12th. Weiss Ratings raised American Express from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Evercore set a $393.00 target price on shares of American Express in a research note on Tuesday, February 10th. Truist Financial reduced their target price on American Express from $420.00 to $400.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 2nd. Finally, Wolfe Research assumed coverage on American Express in a research note on Monday, December 8th. They set a “peer perform” rating on the stock. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirteen have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $356.90.

Insider Transactions at American Express

In other news, insider Ravikumar Radhakrishnan sold 15,000 shares of American Express stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the insider directly owned 8,945 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,189,608.10. The trade was a 62.64% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Howard Grosfield sold 8,134 shares of the business’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 transaction, the insider owned 9,433 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,270,704.09. This represents a 46.30% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 73,944 shares of company stock valued at $26,114,366. Company insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

American Express Trading Down 0.6%

Shares of AXP opened at $300.16 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 1.59, a quick ratio of 1.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.68. American Express Company has a twelve month low of $220.43 and a twelve month high of $387.49. The firm has a market capitalization of $206.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 1.15. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $344.01 and its 200 day simple moving average is $349.12.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 30th. The payment services company reported $3.53 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $3.04 earnings per share. American Express has set its FY 2026 guidance at 17.300-17.900 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that American Express Company will post 15.33 earnings per share for the current 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 dividend of $0.95 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 2nd. This is an increase from American Express’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.82. This represents a $3.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.3%. American Express’s payout ratio is currently 21.31%.

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.