American Express Company $AXP Stake Boosted by Flputnam Investment Management Co.

Flputnam Investment Management Co. increased its stake in American Express Company (NYSE:AXP) by 18.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 16,630 shares of the payment services company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,569 shares during the quarter. Flputnam Investment Management Co.’s holdings in American Express were worth $6,152,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of AXP. Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its stake in American Express by 27.0% in the 3rd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 3,970,416 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $1,310,515,000 after purchasing an additional 845,283 shares in the last quarter. Amundi increased its stake in American Express by 23.9% in the 3rd quarter. Amundi now owns 2,787,580 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $925,449,000 after purchasing an additional 537,205 shares in the last quarter. Danske Bank A S purchased a new position in American Express in the 3rd quarter worth about $153,292,000. PFA Pension Forsikringsaktieselskab purchased a new position in American Express in the 4th quarter worth about $166,848,000. Finally, Capital Wealth Planning LLC increased its stake in American Express by 18.5% in the 3rd quarter. Capital Wealth Planning LLC now owns 2,169,242 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $720,535,000 after purchasing an additional 337,991 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on AXP shares. Truist Financial dropped their price target on American Express from $400.00 to $360.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 23rd. BTIG Research reiterated a “sell” rating and issued a $285.00 target price on shares of American Express in a report on Friday, April 24th. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $415.00 target price on American Express in a report on Friday, April 10th. Weiss Ratings downgraded American Express from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 15th. Finally, Barclays dropped their target price on American Express from $323.00 to $322.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, American Express currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $359.05.

American Express Price Performance

Shares of AXP opened at $312.67 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $213.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.51, a P/E/G ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 1.08. The business’s 50-day moving average is $312.07 and its 200-day moving average is $339.44. American Express Company has a fifty-two week low of $286.15 and a fifty-two week high of $387.49. 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 announced its quarterly 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 business had revenue of $14.22 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $18.60 billion. American Express had a return on equity of 33.95% and a net margin of 15.13%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 11.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $3.64 EPS. American Express has set its FY 2026 guidance at 17.300-17.900 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that American Express Company will post 17.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Express Increases Dividend

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

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.