Bleakley Financial Group LLC Raises Holdings in American Express Company $AXP

Bleakley Financial Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of American Express Company (NYSE:AXP) by 40.0% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 21,946 shares of the payment services company’s stock after acquiring an additional 6,274 shares during the quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC’s holdings in American Express were worth $8,119,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of AXP. Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its holdings 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 period. Amundi increased its position in shares of American Express by 23.9% during the third 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 acquired a new position in shares of American Express during the third quarter worth $153,292,000. PFA Pension Forsikringsaktieselskab purchased a new stake in shares of American Express during the 4th quarter valued at $166,848,000. Finally, Capital Wealth Planning LLC lifted its holdings in shares of American Express by 18.5% during the 3rd quarter. Capital Wealth Planning LLC now owns 2,169,242 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $720,535,000 after purchasing an additional 337,991 shares during the last quarter. 84.33% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on 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. Freedom Capital raised American Express from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 14th. Truist Financial lowered their price objective on American Express from $400.00 to $360.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, March 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on American Express from $375.00 to $325.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 9th. Finally, Evercore set a $345.00 price objective on American Express in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $359.05.

American Express Price Performance

NYSE AXP opened at $311.98 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.73, a current ratio of 1.57 and a quick ratio of 1.56. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $311.56 and its 200 day moving average price is $340.20. American Express Company has a 1 year low of $281.46 and a 1 year high of $387.49. The company has a market cap of $212.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.46, a PEG ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 1.08.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 23rd. The payment services company reported $4.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 the consensus estimate of $18.60 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $3.64 EPS. The firm’s 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 forecast that American Express Company will post 17.59 earnings per share for the current year.

American Express Increases Dividend

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