11,041 Shares in American Express Company $AXP Bought by Ellsworth Advisors LLC

Key Points

• Ellsworth Advisors acquired 11,041 American Express shares in the third quarter, valued at approximately $3.36 million. Institutional investors collectively own 84.33% of AXP’s outstanding stock.
• Analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus with an average price target of $365.63, despite some firms recently lowering targets and citing valuation and regulatory concerns.
• American Express reported quarterly EPS of $4.53, beating estimates, while revenue rose 10% year over year. The company also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.95 per share, representing a 1.2% annualized yield.

Ellsworth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in American Express Company (NYSE:AXP - Free Report) in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 11,041 shares of the payment services company's stock, valued at approximately $3,357,000.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new stake in American Express during the 2nd quarter worth $14,208,662,000. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in American Express by 40.2% in the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 40,967,262 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $13,857,176,000 after buying an additional 11,739,541 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE boosted its position in American Express by 8.4% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 7,969,555 shares of the payment services company's stock valued at $2,695,702,000 after buying an additional 614,981 shares during the last quarter. Corient Private Wealth LP purchased a new position in American Express in the 2nd quarter valued at about $253,945,000. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new stake in shares of American Express during the second quarter valued at about $1,263,787,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.33% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Barclays dropped their target price on American Express from $364.00 to $342.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, October 5th. BMO Capital Markets assumed coverage on American Express in a report on Thursday, October 8th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $380.00 price target for the company. UBS Group lowered their price objective on American Express from $384.00 to $345.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, October 5th. DZ Bank upgraded American Express from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $375.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Thursday, June 18th. Finally, Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on American Express from $396.00 to $405.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 12th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, American Express currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $365.63.

Key Stories Impacting American Express

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

• Positive Sentiment: Institutional investor support: Harris Oakmark’s third-quarter 2026 investor letter identified American Express as a compelling investment, signaling confidence in the company’s brand, business quality and long-term capital appreciation potential. What Makes American Express (AXP) a Compelling Bet?
• Positive Sentiment: AI commerce opportunity: American Express is developing issuer-side tools, including “Proof of Intent” and AI-powered payment security, to authenticate purchases made by autonomous shopping agents. If successful, the technology could protect against fraud, support higher transaction volumes and create a new payments growth channel. Can American Express Turn AI Commerce Into a New Growth Driver?
• Neutral Sentiment: Marketing partnership: Rakuten launched a limited-edition Naruto Shippuden design for the Rakuten American Express Card. The promotion may improve card engagement and brand visibility, but it does not change the card’s existing rewards or represent a material near-term earnings catalyst. Rakuten Introduces Limited Edition NARUTO SHIPPUDEN Credit Card Design
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst valuation support: Brokerages reportedly have a consensus target price of $365.63, implying meaningful upside relative to the recent trading level. However, the target is forward-looking and does not eliminate regulatory risks. American Express Consensus Target Price
• Negative Sentiment: AML fine and valuation concerns: A reported $350 million anti-money-laundering fine is pressuring the investment case, raising questions about compliance costs, regulatory oversight and whether AXP’s valuation fully reflects its earnings power. American Express Stock May Sit Below Fair Value As AML Fine Lands

American Express Stock Up 2.2%

Shares of American Express stock opened at $313.61 on Friday. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $321.67 and a 200 day moving average price of $325.37. American Express Company has a fifty-two week low of $290.97 and a fifty-two week high of $387.49. The firm has a market cap of $211.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.03, a P/E/G ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 1.08. The company has a quick ratio of 1.54, a current ratio of 1.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.66.

American Express (NYSE:AXP - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Friday, July 24th. The payment services company reported $4.53 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $4.41 by $0.12. American Express had a return on equity of 34.12% and a net margin of 15.07%. The company had revenue of $14.99 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $19.70 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $4.08 EPS. American Express's quarterly revenue was up 10.0% compared to the same quarter last year. American Express has set its FY 2026 guidance at 17.300-17.900 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that American Express Company will post 17.65 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Express Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, November 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 9th will be issued a $0.95 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 9th. This represents a $3.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.2%. American Express's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 23.06%.

American Express Company Profile

American Express Company NYSE: AXP is a global financial services company that provides payment, lending, travel and related products to consumers, small businesses and corporate customers. Its offerings include consumer and business charge and credit cards, payment solutions, commercial financing, deposit products and rewards programs.

American Express also operates a worldwide merchant network and provides businesses with payment acceptance services, transaction-processing capabilities and data-driven marketing solutions.

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