Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund Has $16.90 Million Holdings in American Express Company $AXP

Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund increased its position in American Express Company (NYSE:AXP) by 16.1% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 55,881 shares of the payment services company’s stock after acquiring an additional 7,762 shares during the quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund’s holdings in American Express were worth $16,903,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Brighton Jones LLC grew its holdings in American Express by 24.4% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 6,481 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $1,924,000 after buying an additional 1,273 shares during the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of American Express by 13.0% during the second quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,738 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $554,000 after buying an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. acquired a new position in shares of American Express during the second quarter worth approximately $428,000. Howland Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of American Express by 4.2% in the second quarter. Howland Capital Management LLC now owns 2,216 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $707,000 after acquiring an additional 90 shares during the period. Finally, HUB Investment Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of American Express by 19.9% in the second quarter. HUB Investment Partners LLC now owns 2,898 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $924,000 after acquiring an additional 481 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on AXP. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of American Express from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $328.00 to $400.00 in a research report on Monday. Truist Financial increased their price target on shares of American Express from $360.00 to $375.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 24th. Freedom Capital upgraded shares of American Express from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 14th. Piper Sandler downgraded shares of American Express from an “overweight” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of American Express from $425.00 to $415.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 9th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Buy rating, ten have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $374.15.

American Express Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE AXP opened at $358.61 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $244.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.37, a PEG ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 1.04. American Express Company has a one year low of $288.34 and a one year high of $387.49. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $327.75 and a 200 day simple moving average of $331.30. The company has a current ratio of 1.57, a quick ratio of 1.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.73.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 23rd. The payment services company reported $4.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.01 by $0.27. American Express had a net margin of 15.13% and a return on equity of 33.95%. The firm had revenue of $14.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $18.60 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $3.64 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.4% on a year-over-year basis. American Express has set its FY 2026 guidance at 17.300-17.900 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that American Express Company will post 17.67 EPS for the current year.

American Express Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, July 2nd will be paid a $0.95 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 2nd. This represents a $3.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.1%. American Express’s payout ratio is presently 23.71%.

Key American Express News

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

• Positive Sentiment: JPMorgan upgraded American Express to Overweight and named it a preferred pick, pointing to the company’s stronger spending-linked revenue model even as broader market worries rise.
• Positive Sentiment: American Express raised its Platinum Card annual fee to $895, a roughly 29% increase, and reports say retention remains high — a favorable sign for future card-fee revenue.
• Positive Sentiment: Several articles highlighted American Express as one of Warren Buffett’s key holdings and a stock to watch, which can support investor confidence in the long-term story.
• Positive Sentiment: Research pieces also pointed to strong earnings growth and price momentum, reinforcing expectations for solid fundamentals heading into the July 24 earnings report.
• Neutral Sentiment: American Express was featured in a branded Montauk/EDITION Hotels event, which is positive for marketing and cardholder engagement but unlikely to move the stock materially by itself.
• Neutral Sentiment: Peer-news around Visa’s AI banking assistant and the reported PayPal takeover chatter may influence sentiment for payments names broadly, but the direct impact on AXP is limited.

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.