State of Michigan Retirement System Decreases Position in American Express Company $AXP

Key Points

• State of Michigan Retirement System trimmed its stake in American Express by 4.2%, selling 6,100 shares and holding 140,677 shares valued at about $52.0 million after the quarter.
• American Express beat Q1 EPS expectations ($4.28 vs. $4.01) with strong cardmember spending, but management set cautious FY2026 guidance of $17.30–$17.90 EPS and flagged higher strategic spending, which weighed on the stock.
• Insiders have sold heavily (73,944 shares worth ~$26.1M over 90 days), analysts’ consensus is a "Hold" with a $361.05 target, and institutional investors own about 84.33% of the company.

State of Michigan Retirement System decreased its holdings in American Express Company (NYSE:AXP - Free Report) by 4.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 140,677 shares of the payment services company's stock after selling 6,100 shares during the period. State of Michigan Retirement System's holdings in American Express were worth $52,043,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of American Express by 1.7% in the third quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 8,881,546 shares of the payment services company's stock valued at $2,950,095,000 after acquiring an additional 146,586 shares in the last quarter. Capital World Investors grew its stake in American Express by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 5,122,335 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $1,701,435,000 after purchasing an additional 24,297 shares in the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors increased its holdings in American Express by 0.7% during the 3rd quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 4,452,660 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $1,479,019,000 after purchasing an additional 29,331 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its holdings in American Express by 27.0% during the 3rd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 3,970,416 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $1,310,515,000 after purchasing an additional 845,283 shares during the period. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc raised its position in American Express by 2.4% in the 3rd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 3,483,876 shares of the payment services company's stock valued at $1,157,204,000 after purchasing an additional 83,189 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.33% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the company. Weiss Ratings downgraded American Express from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 15th. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $420.00 target price on shares of American Express in a report on Tuesday, January 6th. Truist Financial decreased their price target on shares of American Express from $400.00 to $360.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, March 23rd. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $415.00 price target on shares of American Express in a report on Friday, April 10th. Finally, Evercore set a $393.00 price objective on shares of American Express in a research report on Tuesday, February 10th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirteen have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $361.05.

Insider Activity at American Express

In other news, insider Denise Pickett sold 23,385 shares of American Express stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $356.91, for a total transaction of $8,346,340.35. Following the sale, the insider owned 7,754 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,767,480.14. The trade was a 75.10% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Howard Grosfield sold 8,134 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $346.73, for a total value of $2,820,301.82. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 9,433 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,270,704.09. The trade was a 46.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 73,944 shares of company stock valued at $26,114,366. Corporate insiders own 0.14% of the company's stock.

Key Headlines Impacting American Express

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

• Positive Sentiment: Q1 beat on profit and revenue — AXP reported EPS of $4.28, above estimates, and revenue roughly $18.9B with cardmember spending the strongest in three years; these fundamentals underpin long-term earnings power. American Express beats profit estimates (Reuters)
• Positive Sentiment: Premium customer strength — Amex is seeing accelerated luxury and travel spending from affluent and younger cardholders, supporting fee income and premium-product growth. Cardholder spending picks up (MarketWatch)
• Positive Sentiment: Strategic commercial wins — New partnerships (including the NFL deal) and product expansion are cited as drivers of revenue growth and customer engagement. NFL deal boosts revenue (Benzinga)
• Positive Sentiment: Bullish analyst move — Bank of America raised its price target to $387 and kept a buy rating, signaling upside from current levels for longer-term holders. BofA raises AXP PT (Benzinga)
• Neutral Sentiment: AI/product tie-ups — Amex is embedding Resy into Anthropic’s Claude in a product partnership that could enhance customer experience but is not an immediate earnings driver. Resy-Anthropic pact (Seeking Alpha)
• Neutral Sentiment: Mixed analyst commentary — Several outlets note AXP as a quality core holding (RBC) even as some firms debate relative upside vs. growth-oriented payments names; this leaves consensus views split. RBC view (Yahoo Finance)
• Negative Sentiment: Cautious FY2026 outlook — Management set EPS guidance of $17.30–$17.90, slightly below consensus, which traders interpreted as guidance conservatism and capped upside. Q1 beat but cautious outlook (Benzinga)
• Negative Sentiment: Higher investment and expense plans — Management flagged increased strategic spending (technology, marketing), which pressured near-term margins and contributed to the weak market reaction. Spending plans raise concern (Proactive Investors)
• Negative Sentiment: Bearish analyst moves — BTIG reaffirmed a sell rating with a $285 PT and JPMorgan previously trimmed its target; these calls add downward pressure and reduce near-term conviction. BTIG sell, JPMorgan cut (Benzinga/InsiderMonkey)
• Negative Sentiment: Macro/geopolitical caution — Middle East tensions and softer futures dampened overall market appetite for cyclicals, amplifying the stock’s decline despite good quarter-level results. Geopolitics weigh on markets (Zacks)

American Express Price Performance

Shares of NYSE AXP opened at $314.08 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.73, a quick ratio of 1.56 and a current ratio of 1.57. American Express Company has a fifty-two week low of $257.21 and a fifty-two week high of $387.49. The firm has a market capitalization of $214.31 billion, a PE ratio of 19.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 1.13. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $313.64 and its 200-day simple moving average is $344.52.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $4.01 by $0.27. The firm had revenue of $14.22 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $18.60 billion. American Express had a return on equity of 33.95% and a net margin of 15.13%.The firm's quarterly revenue was up 11.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $3.64 earnings per share. American Express has set its FY 2026 guidance at 17.300-17.900 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that American Express Company will post 17.6 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Express Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 8th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 3rd will be issued a $0.95 dividend. This represents a $3.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date is 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 currently 23.71%.

American Express Company 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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