Focus Partners Wealth Raises Stake in American Express Company $AXP

Focus Partners Wealth lifted its stake in shares of American Express Company (NYSE:AXP) by 7.0% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 209,480 shares of the payment services company’s stock after purchasing an additional 13,687 shares during the quarter. Focus Partners Wealth’s holdings in American Express were worth $69,508,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its holdings in American Express by 24.4% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 6,481 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $1,924,000 after buying an additional 1,273 shares in the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC increased its holdings in American Express by 13.0% in the second quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,738 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $554,000 after buying an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. acquired a new stake in shares of American Express during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $428,000. Meridian Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of American Express by 8.7% during the 2nd quarter. Meridian Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,397 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $1,403,000 after acquiring an additional 353 shares during the period. Finally, Avantax Advisory Services Inc. boosted its stake in shares of American Express by 1.8% during the 2nd quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. now owns 26,170 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $8,348,000 after acquiring an additional 469 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the company. Barclays raised their price objective 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased 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. BTIG Research dropped their price target on American Express from $328.00 to $285.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a research report on Monday. UBS Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $395.00 price target on shares of American Express in a research note on Wednesday, February 4th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of American Express from $400.00 to $425.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 17th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirteen have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $354.86.

Key Headlines Impacting American Express

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

• Positive Sentiment: Company expanding cardmember benefits and partnerships in key markets (NY/NJ, Atlanta), supporting engagement and card spend trends which underpin revenue growth. American Express Expands Card Member Benefits
• Positive Sentiment: Longer-term demand signals: coverage pieces note younger consumer sign-ups and management’s mid-teens EPS growth target, reinforcing the company’s franchise strength and customer-acquisition pipeline. Is American Express Stock a Millionaire Maker?
• Neutral Sentiment: Valuation debate continues — AXP trades above industry multiples but below its own five?year median; analysts differ on whether the premium is justified by durable spending and earnings growth. Is American Express a Buy Now Despite its Premium Valuation?
• Neutral Sentiment: Deeper valuation analysis: Zacks highlights AXP’s forward P/E well above peers but near its historical median, keeping the narrative mixed for value-focused investors. Zacks Valuation Analysis
• Neutral Sentiment: Credit metrics update: American Express reported largely stable credit metrics with some modest declines, suggesting asset-quality remains manageable but monitoring is warranted. TipRanks Credit Metrics Update
• Negative Sentiment: Unusually large put activity: traders bought ~43,272 put options today (?+140% vs. average), signaling heightened bearish hedging/speculation that can amplify near-term downside.
• Negative Sentiment: Analyst cut: BTIG lowered its price target to $285 and moved to a “sell” rating, adding downward pressure by creating renewed sell-side skepticism. BTIG Price Target Cut (Benzinga)
• Negative Sentiment: Competitive threat: Robinhood’s planned platinum credit card rollout raises competitive concerns around customer acquisition and fee/rewards dynamics, which may worry investors focused on share gains and margin pressure. Robinhood Card Competitive Threat

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Anna Marrs sold 27,425 shares of American Express stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the insider directly owned 20,394 shares in the company, valued at $7,138,103.94. The trade was a 57.35% 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 Howard Grosfield sold 8,134 shares of the company’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 transaction of $2,820,301.82. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 9,433 shares in the company, valued at $3,270,704.09. The trade was a 46.30% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 73,944 shares of company stock valued at $26,114,366. 0.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

American Express Stock Performance

American Express stock opened at $298.05 on Tuesday. American Express Company has a fifty-two week low of $220.43 and a fifty-two week high of $387.49. The company has a market capitalization of $204.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.37, a PEG ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 1.15. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $342.37 and a two-hundred day moving average of $348.92. 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 (NYSE:AXP) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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). The company had revenue of ($17,139.00) million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $18.91 billion. American Express had a net margin of 15.00% and a return on equity of 33.49%. The firm’s revenue was up 10.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $3.04 earnings per share. American Express has set its FY 2026 guidance at 17.300-17.900 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that American Express Company will post 15.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Express Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared 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 of this dividend is Thursday, April 2nd. This represents a $3.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.3%. This is an increase from American Express’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.82. American Express’s dividend payout ratio is 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.