American Express Company $AXP Shares Sold by Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc.

Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. cut its position in American Express Company (NYSE:AXP) by 8.6% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 68,479 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 6,410 shares during the period. Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in American Express were worth $25,334,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Rayburn West Financial Services LLC acquired a new stake in shares of American Express in the fourth quarter valued at $6,587,000. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of American Express by 2.4% in the fourth quarter. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC now owns 2,860 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $1,058,000 after buying an additional 68 shares in the last quarter. Strategic Family Wealth Counselors L.L.C. grew its stake in shares of American Express by 127.2% in the fourth quarter. Strategic Family Wealth Counselors L.L.C. now owns 3,440 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $1,212,000 after buying an additional 1,926 shares in the last quarter. Knuff & Co LLC grew its stake in shares of American Express by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Knuff & Co LLC now owns 9,950 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $3,681,000 after buying an additional 106 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Heritage Wealth Management Inc. CA acquired a new stake in shares of American Express in the fourth quarter valued at $203,000. 84.33% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on American Express from $360.00 to $400.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 28th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on American Express from $425.00 to $415.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 9th. Bank of America boosted their target price on American Express from $381.00 to $387.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, April 24th. BTIG Research reissued a “sell” rating and set a $285.00 target price on shares of American Express in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on American Express from $395.00 to $385.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 16th. Eight 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. According to data from MarketBeat.com, American Express presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $357.47.

American Express Trading Down 1.6%

NYSE:AXP opened at $309.25 on Thursday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $310.58 and a 200-day simple moving average of $342.93. The stock has a market cap of $211.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.29, a P/E/G ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 1.08. American Express Company has a 1 year low of $281.46 and a 1 year high of $387.49. 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 (NYSE:AXP) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 23rd. The payment services company reported $4.28 earnings per share (EPS) 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 firm posted $3.64 EPS. The business’s quarterly 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, analysts anticipate that American Express Company will post 17.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Express Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 8th. Investors of record on Friday, April 3rd were given a $0.95 dividend. This is a boost from American Express’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.82. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 2nd. This represents a $3.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.2%. American Express’s payout ratio 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.