Whalen Wealth Management Inc. Buys New Position in American Express Company $AXP

Whalen Wealth Management Inc. bought a new position in American Express Company (NYSE:AXP) in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor bought 2,424 shares of the payment services company’s stock, valued at approximately $897,000.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AXP. Brighton Jones LLC grew its position in shares of American Express by 24.4% during the 4th 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 during the period. Sivia Capital Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of American Express by 13.0% during the 2nd quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,738 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $554,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares during the period. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. bought a new position in American Express during the second quarter worth $428,000. Howland Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in American Express by 4.2% during the second quarter. Howland Capital Management LLC now owns 2,216 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $707,000 after acquiring an additional 90 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Trek Financial LLC acquired a new stake in American Express in the second quarter worth $223,000. 84.33% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of American Express in a report on Friday, March 27th. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of American Express in a research report on Monday, March 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on American Express from $385.00 to $375.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. Morgan Stanley set a $395.00 price target on American Express in a report on Tuesday, January 20th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on American Express from $400.00 to $425.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 17th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirteen have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, American Express presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $352.95.

American Express Stock Up 0.0%

American Express stock opened at $300.23 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $205.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 1.13. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $323.53 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $345.82. American Express Company has a 1-year low of $220.43 and a 1-year high of $387.49. The company has a current ratio of 1.59, a quick ratio of 1.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.68.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last posted its earnings results on Friday, January 30th. The payment services company reported $3.53 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.54 by ($0.01). American Express had a return on equity of 33.49% and a net margin of 15.00%.The business had revenue of ($17,139.00) million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $18.91 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $3.04 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 10.5% on a year-over-year basis. American Express has set its FY 2026 guidance at 17.300-17.900 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that American Express Company will post 15.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Express Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 8th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 3rd will be issued a dividend of $0.95 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 2nd. This represents a $3.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a 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 presently 24.69%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Anna Marrs sold 27,425 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $350.01, for a total value of $9,599,024.25. Following the transaction, the insider owned 20,394 shares in the company, valued at $7,138,103.94. This trade represents a 57.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 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 value of $2,820,301.82. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 9,433 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,270,704.09. The trade was a 46.30% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 73,944 shares of company stock valued at $26,114,366. 0.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

American Express Company 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.