Ceeto Capital Group LLC Decreases Stock Holdings in American Express Company $AXP

Ceeto Capital Group LLC reduced its position in shares of American Express Company (NYSE:AXP) by 24.3% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 9,355 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 3,000 shares during the quarter. American Express makes up about 0.9% of Ceeto Capital Group LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 18th biggest holding. Ceeto Capital Group LLC’s holdings in American Express were worth $3,107,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in AXP. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. increased its position in shares of American Express by 153.3% in the third quarter. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. now owns 76 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 46 shares during the period. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of American Express during the third quarter worth about $27,000. Guerra Advisors Inc purchased a new stake in shares of American Express during the third quarter worth about $28,000. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of American Express by 210.7% in the third quarter. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC now owns 87 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 59 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Grey Fox Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of American Express in the third quarter worth about $34,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AXP has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on American Express in a research report on Monday, December 8th. They set a “peer perform” rating for the company. UBS Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $395.00 price objective on shares of American Express in a research report on Wednesday, February 4th. Credit Suisse Group set a $328.00 target price on American Express in a research note on Monday, January 12th. Morgan Stanley set a $395.00 target price on American Express in a report on Tuesday, January 20th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $420.00 price target on shares of American Express in a research note on Tuesday, January 6th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $356.90.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Anna Marrs sold 27,425 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $350.01, for a total transaction of $9,599,024.25. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly 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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Howard Grosfield sold 8,134 shares of American Express stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $346.73, for a total value of $2,820,301.82. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 9,433 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,270,704.09. This represents a 46.30% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 73,944 shares of company stock valued at $26,114,366 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

American Express Price Performance

AXP stock opened at $300.16 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.68, a quick ratio of 1.58 and a current ratio of 1.59. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $344.01 and a 200-day moving average price of $348.94. American Express Company has a 52-week low of $220.43 and a 52-week high of $387.49. The firm has a market capitalization of $206.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.50, a PEG ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 1.14.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 30th. The payment services company reported $3.53 earnings per share 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 company had revenue of ($17,139.00) million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $18.91 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $3.04 EPS. The business’s quarterly 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. Equities research analysts forecast that American Express Company will post 15.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Express Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 8th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 3rd will be paid a $0.95 dividend. This is an increase from American Express’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.82. This represents a $3.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 2nd. American Express’s payout ratio is currently 24.69%.

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.