Principal Financial Group Inc. Purchases 208,769 Shares of American Express Company $AXP

Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in American Express Company (NYSE:AXP) by 34.3% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 818,057 shares of the payment services company’s stock after buying an additional 208,769 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in American Express were worth $302,640,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. grew its stake in American Express by 153.3% in the 3rd quarter. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. now owns 76 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 46 shares during the period. Joseph Group Capital Management bought a new position in American Express in the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC bought a new position in American Express in the 3rd quarter valued at $27,000. Guerra Advisors Inc bought a new position in American Express in the 3rd quarter valued at $28,000. Finally, Measured Wealth Private Client Group LLC bought a new position in American Express in the 3rd quarter valued at $28,000. Institutional investors own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

American Express News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting American Express this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Sale of remaining ~30% stake in Global Business Travel (GBT) will unlock cash and an expected pre‑tax gain, providing ammunition for buybacks/dividends and reducing exposure to travel services. AmEx’s GBT Exit and Q1 Beat
• Positive Sentiment: Q1 results showed an EPS beat and management reaffirmed 2026 guidance — evidence of earnings resilience that supports the stock’s capital-return plans. AmEx’s Q1 Beat / Guidance
• Positive Sentiment: Airfare inflation and tighter flight capacity are pushing consumers toward cheaper alternatives and rewards programs — a macro tailwind for card spend and loyalty benefits that favor networks like AmEx. Airfares Jump 15%
• Neutral Sentiment: Board declared the quarterly dividend on Series D preferred shares (routine funding item for shareholders of the preferred series). Preferred Dividend Declared
• Neutral Sentiment: Management will appear at investor conferences and the company issued fixed‑to‑floating rate notes — both items increase transparency and adjust capital structure but are not material earnings drivers on their own. Investor Conferences Fixed-to-Floating Notes
• Negative Sentiment: Some analysts and income investors are questioning whether the company can sustain a faster-growing common dividend after a 16% raise and the larger payout schedule. That concern can pressure the stock if investors worry about future cash flow allocation. Can American Express Keep Up With Its Swelling Dividend?
• Negative Sentiment: Despite the EPS beat, some headline revenue figures and market expectations (citations in coverage) raised questions about topline momentum — investors may be selling into the news or rotating out on valuation/technical concerns. Will Strong Q1 Earnings, Card Upgrades And Asset Sale Proceeds Change AXP Narrative

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AXP has been the subject of a number of research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on shares of American Express from $375.00 to $325.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 9th. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $415.00 target price on shares of American Express in a research report on Friday, April 10th. Truist Financial reduced their target price on shares of American Express from $400.00 to $360.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, March 23rd. Barclays reduced their target price on shares of American Express from $323.00 to $322.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on shares of 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. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirteen have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, American Express presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $357.47.

Insider Activity at American Express

In other news, insider Ravikumar Radhakrishnan sold 15,000 shares of American Express stock in a transaction on Monday, February 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $356.58, for a total transaction of $5,348,700.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 8,945 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,189,608.10. The trade was a 62.64% 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 on Thursday, February 12th. The stock was 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $3,270,704.09. This represents a 46.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 73,944 shares of company stock valued at $26,114,366. 0.14% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

American Express Stock Performance

Shares of AXP opened at $315.95 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $215.58 billion, a PE ratio of 19.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.30 and a beta of 1.08. The company has a current ratio of 1.57, a quick ratio of 1.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.73. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $311.11 and a 200-day moving average price of $344.26. American Express Company has a 12-month low of $273.61 and a 12-month high of $387.49.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 23rd. The payment services company reported $4.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 company’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $3.64 EPS. American Express has set its FY 2026 guidance at 17.300-17.900 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that American Express Company will post 17.59 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. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 1.2%. This is an increase from American Express’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.82. American Express’s 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.