Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund Purchases 66,550 Shares of American Express Company $AXP

Key Points

• Fjarde AP Fonden increased its American Express stake by 72.5% in the first quarter, adding 66,550 shares and bringing its total holding to 158,373 shares valued at about $47.9 million.
• American Express recently beat earnings expectations, reporting $4.28 EPS versus the $4.01 estimate, while revenue rose 11.4% year over year; the company also reaffirmed FY 2026 EPS guidance of 17.3 to 17.9.
• Analyst sentiment is mixed but generally positive, with average target price of $366.95 and a “Moderate Buy” consensus; recent news also included a Piper Sandler upgrade to strong-buy and a new quarterly dividend of $0.95 per share.

Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund boosted its position in American Express Company (NYSE:AXP) by 72.5% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 158,373 shares of the payment services company's stock after acquiring an additional 66,550 shares during the period. Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund's holdings in American Express were worth $47,905,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its stake in American Express by 24.4% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 6,481 shares of the payment services company's stock valued at $1,924,000 after acquiring an additional 1,273 shares during the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of 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 valued at $554,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the period. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. acquired a new position in shares of American Express in the 2nd quarter valued at $428,000. Howland Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 90 shares during the last quarter. Finally, HUB Investment Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of American Express by 19.9% during the second quarter. HUB Investment Partners LLC now owns 2,898 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $924,000 after purchasing an additional 481 shares during the period. 84.33% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

More American Express News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Piper Sandler upgraded American Express (AXP) from neutral to strong-buy, signaling growing analyst confidence in the company’s outlook.
• Positive Sentiment: American Express and Apple Pay launched a “Use Pay with Points” feature, letting card members redeem Membership Rewards points at checkout, which could strengthen customer engagement and boost card usage.
• Positive Sentiment: American Express, Resy, and the National Restaurant Association Educational Foundation launched Restaurant Academy, a new program that supports restaurant operators and reinforces AXP’s merchant relationships.
• Positive Sentiment: Several recent articles highlighted American Express as an undervalued Dow stock and a long-term Buffett holding, reinforcing the view that the stock still has room to run.
• Neutral Sentiment: Wall Street expects American Express to report second-quarter EPS growth in the single digits, suggesting steady but not explosive earnings momentum ahead of the upcoming results.
• Neutral Sentiment: BTIG raised its price target on AXP to $324 from $285, but kept a Sell rating, showing that even some higher target revisions are coming with caution.
• Negative Sentiment: A 247WallSt comparison piece argued Mastercard’s network-fee model offers lower risk and better margin insulation than American Express’s credit-card business, highlighting a potential structural concern for AXP.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AXP has been the topic of several analyst reports. Weiss Ratings lowered American Express from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 15th. Freedom Capital upgraded shares of American Express from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Thursday, May 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of American Express from $375.00 to $325.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 9th. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $415.00 price target on shares of American Express in a report on Friday, April 10th. Finally, Loop Capital initiated coverage on shares of American Express in a research report on Thursday, May 21st. They issued a "buy" rating and a $389.00 price objective for the company. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $366.95.

American Express Price Performance

NYSE AXP opened at $351.66 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.73, a quick ratio of 1.56 and a current ratio of 1.57. The stock has a market cap of $239.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.94, a PEG ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 1.04. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $322.13 and a 200 day simple moving average of $333.14. American Express Company has a 52-week low of $288.34 and a 52-week high of $387.49.

American Express (NYSE:AXP - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 23rd. The payment services company reported $4.28 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $4.01 by $0.27. The firm had revenue of $14.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $18.60 billion. American Express had a net margin of 15.13% and a return on equity of 33.95%. The business's revenue was up 11.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $3.64 earnings per share. American Express has set its FY 2026 guidance at 17.300-17.900 EPS. Analysts anticipate that American Express Company will post 17.65 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Express Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, July 2nd will be given a $0.95 dividend. This represents a $3.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 2nd. American Express's 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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