First Eagle Investment Management LLC Lowers Holdings in American Express Company $AXP

Key Points

• First Eagle Investment Management reduced its American Express stake by 4.8% in the fourth quarter, selling 83,083 shares and leaving it with 1.64 million shares valued at about $606.7 million.
• American Express reported quarterly EPS of $4.28, beating analyst expectations, while revenue rose 11.4% year over year to $14.22 billion; the company also reaffirmed FY2026 EPS guidance of $17.30 to $17.90.
• The company raised its quarterly dividend to $0.95 per share from $0.82, and analysts currently have a Hold consensus on the stock with an average price target of $357.47.

First Eagle Investment Management LLC cut its holdings in American Express Company (NYSE:AXP) by 4.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,639,846 shares of the payment services company's stock after selling 83,083 shares during the period. First Eagle Investment Management LLC owned 0.24% of American Express worth $606,661,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Brighton Jones LLC increased its stake in American Express by 24.4% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 6,481 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $1,924,000 after acquiring an additional 1,273 shares during the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC increased its stake in American Express by 13.0% in the 2nd quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,738 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $554,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. bought a new stake in American Express in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $428,000. Howland Capital Management LLC increased its stake in American Express by 4.2% in the 2nd quarter. Howland Capital Management LLC now owns 2,216 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $707,000 after acquiring an additional 90 shares during the last quarter. Finally, HUB Investment Partners LLC increased its stake in American Express by 19.9% in the 2nd quarter. HUB Investment Partners LLC now owns 2,898 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $924,000 after acquiring an additional 481 shares during the last quarter. 84.33% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at American Express

In related news, insider Howard Grosfield sold 8,134 shares of the company's 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 completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 9,433 shares in the company, valued at $3,270,704.09. This represents a 46.30% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.14% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. BTIG Research reissued a "sell" rating and set a $285.00 target price on shares of American Express in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on American Express from $425.00 to $415.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 9th. Barclays lowered their price target on 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. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $415.00 price target on American Express in a research report on Friday, April 10th. Finally, Weiss Ratings downgraded American Express from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 15th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirteen have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $357.47.

American Express Stock Performance

Shares of American Express stock opened at $312.35 on Tuesday. The stock's fifty day moving average is $310.41 and its two-hundred day moving average is $343.51. The company has a market capitalization of $213.12 billion, a PE ratio of 19.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 1.08. The company has a quick ratio of 1.56, a current ratio of 1.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.73. American Express Company has a 52 week low of $281.46 and a 52 week high of $387.49.

American Express (NYSE:AXP - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 23rd. The payment services company reported $4.28 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 business had revenue of $14.22 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $18.60 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $3.64 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 11.4% compared to the same quarter last year. American Express has set its FY 2026 guidance at 17.300-17.900 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that American Express Company will post 17.59 earnings per share for the current year.

American Express Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed 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. This is an increase from American Express's previous quarterly dividend of $0.82. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 2nd. This represents a $3.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.2%. American Express's dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.

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