Wellington Shields Capital Management LLC Has $14.82 Million Stock Holdings in American Express Company $AXP

Wellington Shields Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of American Express Company (NYSE:AXP) by 4.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 40,049 shares of the payment services company’s stock after buying an additional 1,758 shares during the period. American Express makes up about 2.2% of Wellington Shields Capital Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 9th biggest holding. Wellington Shields Capital Management LLC’s holdings in American Express were worth $14,816,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AXP. Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its stake in American Express by 27.0% during the third quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 3,970,416 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $1,310,515,000 after buying an additional 845,283 shares during the last quarter. Amundi boosted its stake in American Express by 23.9% during the third quarter. Amundi now owns 2,787,580 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $925,449,000 after buying an additional 537,205 shares during the last quarter. Danske Bank A S bought a new position in American Express during the third quarter valued at approximately $153,292,000. PFA Pension Forsikringsaktieselskab bought a new position in American Express during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $166,848,000. Finally, Capital Wealth Planning LLC boosted its stake in American Express by 18.5% during the third quarter. Capital Wealth Planning LLC now owns 2,169,242 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $720,535,000 after buying an additional 337,991 shares during the last quarter. 84.33% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AXP has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Weiss Ratings downgraded American Express from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 15th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on American Express from $395.00 to $385.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 16th. Evercore set a $345.00 price objective on American Express in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on American Express from $375.00 to $325.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 9th. Finally, Loop Capital assumed coverage on American Express in a research report on Thursday. They issued a “buy” rating and a $389.00 price objective for the company. 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 company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $359.05.

American Express Trading Up 0.1%

AXP opened at $311.98 on Tuesday. American Express Company has a one year low of $281.46 and a one year high of $387.49. The stock has a market capitalization of $212.87 billion, a PE ratio of 19.46, a P/E/G ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 1.08. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $311.56 and its 200 day moving average price is $340.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.73, a quick ratio of 1.56 and a current ratio of 1.57.

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

American Express Increases Dividend

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