Legato Capital Management LLC Buys New Shares in American Express Company $AXP

Legato Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of American Express Company (NYSE:AXP) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 3,169 shares of the payment services company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,172,000.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Lloyd Advisory Services LLC. acquired a new position in American Express during the fourth quarter worth $68,000. New World Advisors LLC acquired a new position in American Express during the fourth quarter worth $256,000. Advisory Alpha LLC raised its holdings in American Express by 14.7% during the fourth quarter. Advisory Alpha LLC now owns 3,709 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $1,373,000 after buying an additional 476 shares during the last quarter. Evoke Wealth LLC raised its holdings in American Express by 12.4% during the fourth quarter. Evoke Wealth LLC now owns 12,177 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $4,505,000 after buying an additional 1,341 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Markel Group Inc. raised its holdings in American Express by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Markel Group Inc. now owns 488,500 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $180,721,000 after buying an additional 4,250 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

American Express News Summary

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

• Positive Sentiment: Analysts highlighted American Express’s resilient premium spending, strong earnings growth, and expanding lifestyle ecosystem as reasons it may have more upside than PayPal. American Express vs. PayPal: Which Fintech Stock Has More Upside?
• Positive Sentiment: American Express expanded its sports-commerce strategy through a Fanatics tie-up, adding a co-branded card and rewards integration that could support card usage and customer engagement. AmEx Expands Sports Commerce Strategy With Fanatics Tie-Up
• Positive Sentiment: American Express was also mentioned as one of Warren Buffett’s long-term “forever” holdings, reinforcing investor confidence in the company’s durable business model and cash-generating ability. Warren Buffett’s favorite stocks to buy and hold forever
• Neutral Sentiment: Other articles simply reiterated American Express’s status as a Buffett-backed dividend and quality financial stock, which supports the investment case but does not represent a new catalyst. 2 Warren Buffett Stocks That Pay You a Passive Income
• Neutral Sentiment: A broader market piece said weakness in American Express is drawing attention to S&P 500 value stocks, which is more of a commentary on relative valuation than a direct negative company-specific development. American Express Weakness Puts S&P 500 Value In Focus
• Neutral Sentiment: Promotional news about new Hilton and Marriott card offers may support future card sign-ups, but it appears to be routine marketing rather than a major earnings-moving event. New Hilton and Marriott credit card offers — earn up to 175,000 points

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have weighed in on AXP. BTIG Research restated a “sell” rating and set a $285.00 price objective on shares of American Express in a report on Friday, April 24th. Evercore set a $345.00 price objective on shares of American Express in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on shares of American Express from $360.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 28th. UBS Group restated a “neutral” rating and set a $395.00 price objective on shares of American Express in a report on Wednesday, February 4th. Finally, Loop Capital began coverage on shares of American Express in a report on Thursday. They set a “buy” rating and a $389.00 price objective on the stock. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating, thirteen have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, American Express has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $359.05.

American Express Stock Performance

Shares of AXP stock opened at $311.98 on Monday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $311.35 and a 200-day moving average of $340.54. The company has a market cap of $212.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.46, a P/E/G ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 1.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.73, a current ratio of 1.57 and a quick ratio of 1.56. American Express Company has a one year low of $281.46 and a one year high of $387.49.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 23rd. The payment services company reported $4.28 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.01 by $0.27. The company had revenue of $14.22 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $18.60 billion. American Express had a net margin of 15.13% and a return on equity of 33.95%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $3.64 earnings per share. American Express has set its FY 2026 guidance at 17.300-17.900 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that American Express Company will post 17.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Express Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 8th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 3rd were issued a $0.95 dividend. This is an increase from American Express’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.82. This represents a $3.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 2nd. American Express’s dividend payout ratio is currently 23.71%.

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.