Vest Financial LLC Buys 7,195 Shares of American Express Company $AXP

Key Points

• Vest Financial LLC increased its stake in American Express by 4.6% in Q4, buying 7,195 shares to hold 163,448 shares valued at about $60.47 million.
• Company insiders have been net sellers recently—Anna Marrs sold 27,425 shares (~$9.6M) and Howard Grosfield sold 8,134 shares (~$2.82M), with insiders offloading 73,944 shares worth $26.11M in the last three months and now owning 0.14% of the stock.
• American Express beat quarterly EPS estimates with $4.28 (vs. $4.01 expected), reported $14.22B in revenue, set FY2026 guidance of $17.30–$17.90 EPS, and raised its quarterly dividend to $0.95 from $0.82.

Vest Financial LLC grew its stake in shares of American Express Company (NYSE:AXP - Free Report) by 4.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 163,448 shares of the payment services company's stock after buying an additional 7,195 shares during the period. Vest Financial LLC's holdings in American Express were worth $60,468,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. raised its position in shares of American Express by 153.3% during the third quarter. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. now owns 76 shares of the payment services company's stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 46 shares during the last quarter. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of American Express in the third quarter valued at $27,000. Guerra Advisors Inc purchased a new position in shares of American Express in the third quarter valued at $28,000. Measured Wealth Private Client Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of American Express in the third quarter valued at $28,000. Finally, Torren Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of American Express in the fourth quarter valued at $32,000. Institutional investors own 84.33% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Anna Marrs sold 27,425 shares of American Express stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $350.01, for a total transaction of $9,599,024.25. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 20,394 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,138,103.94. This trade represents a 57.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Howard Grosfield sold 8,134 shares of American Express stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $346.73, for a total value of $2,820,301.82. Following the sale, the insider owned 9,433 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,270,704.09. This trade represents a 46.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 73,944 shares of company stock valued at $26,114,366 in the last three months. 0.14% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AXP has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. BTIG Research reissued a "sell" rating and issued a $285.00 target price on shares of American Express in a report on Friday. Credit Suisse Group set a $328.00 target price on shares of American Express in a report on Monday, January 12th. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on shares of American Express from $395.00 to $385.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 16th. Bank of America raised their target price on shares of American Express from $381.00 to $387.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday. Finally, Evercore set a $393.00 price objective on shares of American Express in a research note on Tuesday, February 10th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $361.05.

American Express Stock Up 1.5%

NYSE AXP opened at $318.89 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.56, a current ratio of 1.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.73. The company has a fifty day moving average of $313.26 and a two-hundred day moving average of $344.48. The firm has a market capitalization of $217.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.89, a PEG ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 1.13. American Express Company has a 52 week low of $257.21 and a 52 week high of $387.49.

American Express (NYSE:AXP - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 23rd. The payment services company reported $4.28 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.01 by $0.27. The company had revenue of $14.22 billion during 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%. American Express's quarterly revenue was up 11.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $3.64 earnings per share. American Express has set its FY 2026 guidance at 17.300-17.900 EPS. On average, analysts predict that American Express Company will post 17.6 earnings per share for the current year.

American Express Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 8th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 3rd will be given a dividend of $0.95 per share. This represents a $3.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.2%. This is a positive change from American Express's previous quarterly dividend of $0.82. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 2nd. American Express's dividend payout ratio is 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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