Arete Wealth Advisors LLC Acquires 5,053 Shares of American Express Company $AXP

Arete Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of American Express Company (NYSE:AXP) by 57.8% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 13,788 shares of the payment services company’s stock after buying an additional 5,053 shares during the period. Arete Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in American Express were worth $4,580,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of AXP. Gratus Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in American Express by 0.8% during the 3rd quarter. Gratus Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,712 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $1,233,000 after buying an additional 28 shares in the last quarter. Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp raised its position in shares of American Express by 10.0% during the third quarter. Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp now owns 308 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $105,000 after acquiring an additional 28 shares during the last quarter. McGlone Suttner Wealth Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of American Express by 1.0% during the third quarter. McGlone Suttner Wealth Management Inc. now owns 2,910 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $967,000 after acquiring an additional 29 shares during the period. Walkner Condon Financial Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in American Express by 2.1% in the third quarter. Walkner Condon Financial Advisors LLC now owns 1,378 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $458,000 after acquiring an additional 29 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sandy Cove Advisors LLC increased its position in American Express by 2.1% in the third quarter. Sandy Cove Advisors LLC now owns 1,462 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $485,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares during the period. 84.33% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Key Stories Impacting American Express

Here are the key news stories impacting American Express this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Large corporate real-estate move could be seen as a long-term vote of confidence in the business and NYC hub status; American Express will relocate its global HQ to 2 World Trade Center, a project that supports the firm’s long-term footprint and corporate visibility. American Express to move into new headquarters in final World Trade Center building
• Neutral Sentiment: Earlier session headlines and analyst coverage noted a rebound in AXP tied to macro / AI commentary (Nvidia CEO remarks) and mentions in listicles, but these items appear to have had only temporary upside ahead of today’s sell-off. Why the Market Dipped But American Express (AXP) Gained Today
• Negative Sentiment: Headline focus on AI-driven workforce cuts prompted fresh investor concern and selling pressure, cited in market commentary as a near-term catalyst for the drop. Is It Time to Sell American Express Stock?
• Negative Sentiment: Unusual options activity: buyers bought ~21,709 put contracts (≈31% above average), indicating elevated short-term bearish bets and hedging demand that can amplify downside. (No direct article link provided.)
• Negative Sentiment: Short interest rose ~20% in February to ~8.6M shares, increasing the proportion of shares sold short and adding downward pressure risk if sentiment worsens. (Data summary provided in market feeds.)
• Negative Sentiment: Opinion / analysis pieces are flagging AXP’s YTD pullback (roughly mid-February-to-date slump and discussion of whether the fall is a buying opportunity or structural warning), which can drive momentum-based selling. American Express Has Slumped: Is It a Bargain or a Red Flag?

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AXP has been the topic of a number of research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “buy” rating and set a $420.00 target price on shares of American Express in a research report on Tuesday, January 6th. TD Cowen reissued a “hold” rating on shares of American Express in a research note on Thursday, January 8th. UBS Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $395.00 price objective on shares of American Express in a research note on Wednesday, February 4th. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on shares of American Express in a report on Monday, December 8th. They set a “peer perform” rating for the company. Finally, Barclays increased their price target on American Express from $355.00 to $367.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 6th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $352.73.

American Express Stock Down 8.2%

Shares of NYSE:AXP opened at $307.93 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $358.41 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $349.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.68, a quick ratio of 1.58 and a current ratio of 1.59. The company has a market capitalization of $211.43 billion, a PE ratio of 20.01, a PEG ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 1.14. American Express Company has a 52 week low of $220.43 and a 52 week high of $387.49.

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). American Express had a return on equity of 33.49% and a net margin of 15.00%.The firm had revenue of ($17,139.00) million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $18.91 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $3.04 earnings per share. The company’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. Analysts forecast that American Express Company will post 15.33 earnings per share for the current year.

American Express Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 2nd were issued a $0.82 dividend. This represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 2nd. American Express’s dividend payout ratio is 21.31%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other American Express news, insider Ravikumar Radhakrishnan sold 15,000 shares of American Express 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 transaction, the insider 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Anna Marrs sold 27,425 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $350.01, for a total transaction of $9,599,024.25. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 20,394 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,138,103.94. This trade represents a 57.35% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last three months, insiders sold 73,944 shares of company stock worth $26,114,366. 0.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.