State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D Decreases Stake in American Express Company $AXP

State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D decreased its holdings in American Express Company (NYSE:AXP) by 2.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 191,205 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 4,902 shares during the quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D’s holdings in American Express were worth $70,736,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Gratus Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of 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 valued at $1,233,000 after purchasing an additional 28 shares in the last quarter. Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp increased its stake in American Express by 10.0% in the third quarter. Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp now owns 308 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $105,000 after acquiring an additional 28 shares during the period. Capital Asset Advisory Services LLC raised its position in American Express by 2.4% in the fourth quarter. Capital Asset Advisory Services LLC now owns 1,214 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $465,000 after purchasing an additional 28 shares in the last quarter. Lantz Financial LLC boosted its holdings in American Express by 3.6% during the fourth quarter. Lantz Financial LLC now owns 808 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $299,000 after purchasing an additional 28 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Walkner Condon Financial Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of American Express by 2.1% in the 3rd quarter. Walkner Condon Financial Advisors LLC now owns 1,378 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $458,000 after buying an additional 29 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have weighed in on AXP shares. Weiss Ratings cut American Express from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 15th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on American Express from $395.00 to $385.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 16th. TD Cowen reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of American Express in a research note on Thursday, January 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on shares of American Express from $375.00 to $325.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 9th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on shares of American Express from $360.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, American Express has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $357.47.

American Express Stock Up 0.8%

AXP stock opened at $318.19 on Thursday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $312.08 and a 200-day moving average of $344.28. American Express Company has a fifty-two week low of $266.52 and a fifty-two week high of $387.49. The stock has a market capitalization of $217.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.82, a P/E/G ratio of 1.30 and a beta of 1.13. 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 (NYSE:AXP) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 23rd. The payment services company reported $4.28 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.01 by $0.27. The firm had revenue of $14.22 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $18.60 billion. American Express had a return on equity of 33.95% and a net margin of 15.13%.The business’s revenue was up 11.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $3.64 EPS. American Express has set its FY 2026 guidance at 17.300-17.900 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that American Express Company will post 17.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Express Increases Dividend

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

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Denise Pickett sold 23,385 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $356.91, for a total transaction of $8,346,340.35. Following the sale, the insider owned 7,754 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,767,480.14. This trade represents a 75.10% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Howard Grosfield sold 8,134 shares of American Express 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 sale, the insider directly owned 9,433 shares in the company, valued at $3,270,704.09. This trade represents a 46.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 73,944 shares of company stock worth $26,114,366. Insiders own 0.14% of the company’s stock.

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.