American Express Company $AXP Shares Bought by Elefante Mark B

Elefante Mark B lifted its position in American Express Company (NYSE:AXP) by 72.8% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 4,508 shares of the payment services company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,899 shares during the period. Elefante Mark B’s holdings in American Express were worth $1,497,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of American Express in the second quarter worth about $1,897,335,000. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of American Express by 31,595.9% during the 2nd quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,742,009 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $555,666,000 after purchasing an additional 1,736,513 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of American Express by 11.1% in the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 13,487,316 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $4,282,984,000 after purchasing an additional 1,349,746 shares in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its holdings in shares of American Express by 26.1% in the second quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 3,125,133 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $988,676,000 after purchasing an additional 646,039 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Provident Trust Co. lifted its position in American Express by 136.6% during the second quarter. Provident Trust Co. now owns 1,108,971 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $353,740,000 after buying an additional 640,214 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Evercore set a $393.00 price target on shares of American Express in a research report on Tuesday, February 10th. Royal Bank Of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $425.00 price target on shares of American Express in a report on Monday, January 12th. Wall Street Zen lowered American Express from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, November 9th. 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 research report on Monday, February 2nd. Finally, UBS Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $395.00 price target on shares of American Express in a research note on Wednesday, February 4th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $352.73.

American Express Stock Performance

Shares of American Express stock opened at $341.93 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $364.73 and its 200-day simple moving average is $347.76. American Express Company has a 12 month low of $220.43 and a 12 month high of $387.49. The stock has a market capitalization of $234.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.22, a PEG ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 1.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.68, a current ratio of 1.59 and a quick ratio of 1.58.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last released 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 net margin of 15.00% and a return on equity of 33.49%. The business had revenue of ($17,139.00) million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $18.91 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $3.04 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.5% compared to the same quarter last year. American Express has set its FY 2026 guidance at 17.300-17.900 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that American Express Company will post 15.33 earnings per share for the current year.

American Express Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 2nd were paid a dividend of $0.82 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 2nd. This represents a $3.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.0%. American Express’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 21.31%.

Insider Activity at American Express

In other news, insider Denise Pickett sold 23,385 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 5th. The shares were 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Howard Grosfield sold 8,134 shares of American Express stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $346.73, for a total transaction of $2,820,301.82. Following the transaction, the insider owned 9,433 shares in the company, valued at $3,270,704.09. The trade was a 46.30% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 73,944 shares of company stock valued at $26,114,366 over the last quarter. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.