American Express Company $AXP Shares Sold by Sterling Capital Management LLC

Key Points

• Sterling Capital Management reduced its American Express stake by 8.3% in the third quarter, selling 10,436 shares and retaining 114,693 shares valued at approximately $34.9 million.
• Institutional ownership remains high at 84.33%, with major investors including BlackRock, State Street and Bank of America increasing or initiating positions in AXP.
• American Express exceeded third-quarter EPS expectations and raised its 2026 profit outlook, but the stock fell 3.7% to $313.10 amid plans to cut about 5% of its workforce and concerns about slower network-volume growth.

Sterling Capital Management LLC lessened its stake in American Express Company (NYSE:AXP - Free Report) by 8.3% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 114,693 shares of the payment services company's stock after selling 10,436 shares during the quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC's holdings in American Express were worth $34,878,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in AXP. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new position in American Express in the second quarter worth approximately $14,208,662,000. State Street Corp increased its position in shares of 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 valued at $13,857,176,000 after purchasing an additional 11,739,541 shares during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE increased its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 614,981 shares during the last quarter. Corient Private Wealth LP purchased a new stake in shares of American Express in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $253,945,000. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new stake in shares of American Express in the 2nd quarter valued at $1,263,787,000. 84.33% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Key American Express News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Strong third-quarter results: American Express reported adjusted EPS of $4.68, above the $4.50 consensus estimate, while revenue rose 8.9% year over year to approximately $20.1 billion. Billed business increased 8% to $454 billion, supported by higher card spending, fees and interest income. American Express Q3 Earnings Beat Estimates on Strong Card Fees
• Positive Sentiment: Profit outlook increased: Management raised its 2026 adjusted EPS forecast to $17.60–$17.90, while reported coverage cited GAAP EPS guidance of $18.30–$18.60. Lower credit-loss provisions and continued spending by affluent customers supported the improved outlook. American Express raises 2026 profit forecast as affluent customers keep spending
• Positive Sentiment: Customer engagement initiatives: American Express is expanding its travel ecosystem by adding Airbnb listings and rewards to Amex Travel, potentially strengthening premium-card retention and spending. American Express brings Airbnb bookings and rewards to Amex Travel platform
• Neutral Sentiment: Premium-card benefit changes: Updates to the Platinum Card’s hotel and airport perks, including a revised $600 hotel credit beginning in 2027, could improve the value proposition for some members but may also introduce additional restrictions. Amex Platinum benefits updates
• Negative Sentiment: AI-related layoffs overshadowed the earnings beat: American Express plans to eliminate about 5% of its global workforce—roughly 3,500 to 4,000 positions—and will record a $336 million restructuring charge. Investors may view the move as evidence of rising costs and execution risk, even though it could generate longer-term efficiency gains. American Express is cutting 5% of its workforce
• Negative Sentiment: Revenue and network-volume performance were only broadly in line with expectations: This limited the positive impact of the earnings and guidance improvements, particularly amid a broader market decline and investor concerns about consumer resilience outside American Express’s affluent customer base. American Express Q3 earnings beat as network volume disappoints

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on AXP shares. William Blair reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of American Express in a research report on Friday. Evercore set a $320.00 target price on American Express in a report on Thursday, October 1st. Jefferies Financial Group restated a "hold" rating and issued a $330.00 price target on shares of American Express in a research note on Friday. UBS Group decreased their price target on American Express from $384.00 to $345.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Monday, October 5th. Finally, Barclays lowered their price objective on American Express from $364.00 to $342.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, October 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have assigned a Buy rating, fourteen have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $364.89.

American Express Stock Down 3.7%

Shares of NYSE:AXP traded down $12.07 during trading on Friday, hitting $313.10. 4,119,680 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,208,687. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $318.84 and its 200-day moving average price is $325.94. American Express Company has a 12-month low of $290.97 and a 12-month high of $387.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.66, a current ratio of 1.55 and a quick ratio of 1.54. The stock has a market capitalization of $211.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.00, a PEG ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 1.08.

American Express (NYSE:AXP - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, October 23rd. The payment services company reported $4.68 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.50 by $0.18. American Express had a net margin of 15.07% and a return on equity of 34.12%. The firm had revenue of $20.06 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $20.12 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $4.14 EPS. American Express's revenue for the quarter was up 8.9% compared to the same quarter last year. American Express has set its FY 2026 guidance at 17.600-17.900 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that American Express Company will post 17.65 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Express Dividend Announcement

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

American Express Company Profile

American Express Company is a global financial services company that provides payment, lending, travel and expense management products and services. Its offerings include consumer and small-business charge and credit cards, corporate payment programs, business financing solutions, deposit products and digital payment services.

The company operates an integrated payments network that connects card members, merchants and financial institutions. American Express also provides merchant acquisition and payment processing services, data and analytics, fraud prevention tools, and customer loyalty programs.

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