American Express Company $AXP is Smead Capital Management Inc.'s 3rd Largest Position

Key Points

• Smead Capital Management trimmed its American Express stake by 6.5% in the fourth quarter, but AXP still remains its 3rd-largest holding and makes up 5.9% of the portfolio.
• Wall Street sentiment is mixed: analysts now have a consensus Hold rating on American Express, with an average price target of $359.05 despite some recent bullish and bearish revisions.
• American Express recently beat earnings expectations with Q1 EPS of $4.28 and also raised its quarterly dividend to $0.95 per share, signaling continued profitability and shareholder returns.

Smead Capital Management Inc. decreased its stake in American Express Company (NYSE:AXP - Free Report) by 6.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 768,431 shares of the payment services company's stock after selling 53,421 shares during the quarter. American Express makes up 5.9% of Smead Capital Management Inc.'s portfolio, making the stock its 3rd biggest holding. Smead Capital Management Inc. owned 0.11% of American Express worth $284,281,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of AXP. Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its stake in shares of American Express by 27.0% in the third quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 3,970,416 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $1,310,515,000 after acquiring an additional 845,283 shares during the period. Amundi boosted its stake in shares of American Express by 23.9% in the third quarter. Amundi now owns 2,787,580 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $925,449,000 after acquiring an additional 537,205 shares during the period. Danske Bank A S bought a new position in shares of American Express in the third quarter worth about $153,292,000. PFA Pension Forsikringsaktieselskab bought a new position in shares of American Express in the fourth quarter worth about $166,848,000. Finally, Capital Wealth Planning LLC boosted its stake in shares of American Express by 18.5% in the third quarter. Capital Wealth Planning LLC now owns 2,169,242 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $720,535,000 after acquiring an additional 337,991 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.33% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on American Express from $395.00 to $385.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 16th. Evercore set a $345.00 price objective on American Express in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. Bank of America upped their price objective on American Express from $381.00 to $387.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Truist Financial dropped their price objective on American Express from $400.00 to $360.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, March 23rd. Finally, BTIG Research reaffirmed a "sell" rating and issued a $285.00 price objective on shares of American Express in a research note on Friday, April 24th. One 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, American Express presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $359.05.

Key Headlines Impacting American Express

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

• Positive Sentiment: Analysts highlighted American Express’s resilient premium spending, strong earnings growth, and expanding lifestyle ecosystem as reasons it may have more upside than PayPal. American Express vs. PayPal: Which Fintech Stock Has More Upside?
• Positive Sentiment: American Express expanded its sports-commerce strategy through a Fanatics tie-up, adding a co-branded card and rewards integration that could support card usage and customer engagement. AmEx Expands Sports Commerce Strategy With Fanatics Tie-Up
• Positive Sentiment: American Express was also mentioned as one of Warren Buffett’s long-term “forever” holdings, reinforcing investor confidence in the company’s durable business model and cash-generating ability. Warren Buffett's favorite stocks to buy and hold forever
• Neutral Sentiment: Other articles simply reiterated American Express’s status as a Buffett-backed dividend and quality financial stock, which supports the investment case but does not represent a new catalyst. 2 Warren Buffett Stocks That Pay You a Passive Income
• Neutral Sentiment: A broader market piece said weakness in American Express is drawing attention to S&P 500 value stocks, which is more of a commentary on relative valuation than a direct negative company-specific development. American Express Weakness Puts S&P 500 Value In Focus
• Neutral Sentiment: Promotional news about new Hilton and Marriott card offers may support future card sign-ups, but it appears to be routine marketing rather than a major earnings-moving event. New Hilton and Marriott credit card offers — earn up to 175,000 points

American Express Price Performance

Shares of American Express stock opened at $311.98 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $311.35 and a 200 day moving average of $340.69. American Express Company has a 12 month low of $281.46 and a 12 month high of $387.49. The firm has a market cap of $212.87 billion, a PE ratio of 19.46, a PEG ratio of 1.27 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.

American Express (NYSE:AXP - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 23rd. The payment services company reported $4.28 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $4.01 by $0.27. American Express had a return on equity of 33.95% and a net margin of 15.13%.The company had revenue of $14.22 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $18.60 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $3.64 earnings per share. 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. On average, research analysts expect that American Express Company will post 17.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Express Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 8th. Investors of record on Friday, April 3rd were paid a dividend of $0.95 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 2nd. This is a boost from American Express's previous quarterly dividend of $0.82. This represents a $3.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.2%. American Express's dividend payout ratio is currently 23.71%.

American Express 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.

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