Legal & General Group Plc Reduces Holdings in American Express Company $AXP

Key Points

• Legal & General Group Plc trimmed its American Express stake by 2.0% in the fourth quarter, selling 69,168 shares but still holding 3.41 million shares valued at about $1.26 billion.
• American Express reported Q1 earnings of $4.28 per share, beating analyst estimates, while revenue rose 11.4% year over year to $14.22 billion. The company also issued FY 2026 EPS guidance of $17.30 to $17.90.
• The company raised its quarterly dividend to $0.95 per share from $0.82, bringing the annualized payout to $3.80 and a yield of about 1.2%.

Legal & General Group Plc decreased its holdings in American Express Company (NYSE:AXP - Free Report) by 2.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,414,708 shares of the payment services company's stock after selling 69,168 shares during the quarter. Legal & General Group Plc owned 0.50% of American Express worth $1,263,271,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in AXP. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of American Express by 153.3% in the third quarter. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. now owns 76 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 46 shares during the last quarter. Joseph Group Capital Management purchased a new position in shares of American Express in the fourth quarter worth approximately $26,000. Guerra Advisors Inc purchased a new position in shares of American Express in the third quarter worth approximately $28,000. Measured Wealth Private Client Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of American Express in the third quarter worth approximately $28,000. Finally, Torren Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of American Express in the fourth quarter worth approximately $32,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.33% of the company's stock.

American Express Price Performance

NYSE AXP opened at $311.98 on Monday. American Express Company has a 12 month low of $281.46 and a 12 month high of $387.49. The stock has a market cap of $212.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.46, a PEG ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 1.08. The company's 50 day moving average is $311.35 and its two-hundred day moving average is $340.54. 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 released its earnings results on Thursday, April 23rd. The payment services company reported $4.28 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $4.01 by $0.27. American Express had a net margin of 15.13% and a return on equity of 33.95%. The company had revenue of $14.22 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $18.60 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $3.64 EPS. The firm's revenue 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, research analysts anticipate that American Express Company will post 17.59 earnings per share for the current year.

American Express Increases Dividend

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

Key American Express News

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

AXP has been the topic of a number of research reports. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of American Express from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 15th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of American Express from $425.00 to $415.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 9th. Evercore set a $345.00 price objective on shares of American Express in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Barclays decreased their target price on shares of American Express from $323.00 to $322.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Finally, Freedom Capital upgraded shares of American Express from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 14th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $359.05.

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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