American Express Company $AXP Stock: Maryland State Retirement & Pension System Boosts Holdings

Maryland State Retirement & Pension System increased its stake in shares of American Express Company (NYSE:AXP) by 13.5% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 32,246 shares of the payment services company’s stock after buying an additional 3,841 shares during the quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System’s holdings in American Express were worth $9,806,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in AXP. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new stake in American Express during the 2nd quarter valued at about $14,208,662,000. State Street Corp increased its holdings in shares of American Express by 40.2% in the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 40,967,262 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $13,857,176,000 after purchasing an additional 11,739,541 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE raised its stake in shares of American Express by 8.4% in the second quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 7,969,555 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $2,695,702,000 after purchasing an additional 614,981 shares during the last quarter. Corient Private Wealth LP raised its stake in shares of American Express by 492.2% in the second quarter. Corient Private Wealth LP now owns 4,771,292 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $1,613,890,000 after purchasing an additional 3,965,582 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new stake in shares of American Express during the second quarter worth about $1,263,787,000. 84.33% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at American Express

In related news, insider Laureen Seeger sold 69,860 shares of American Express stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $328.17, for a total value of $22,925,956.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 9,002 shares in the company, valued at $2,954,186.34. The trade was a 88.59% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Stephen Squeri sold 299,401 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $332.16, for a total value of $99,449,036.16. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 60,567 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $20,117,934.72. The trade was a 83.17% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 414,171 shares of company stock worth $137,069,544 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.14% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on AXP shares. Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their target price on American Express from $415.00 to $400.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 9th. TD Cowen reduced their price target on shares of American Express from $338.00 to $335.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, October 6th. Loop Capital reduced their price target on shares of American Express from $389.00 to $386.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, July 27th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of American Express from $345.00 to $346.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, November 2nd. Finally, President Capital upped their price objective on shares of American Express from $359.00 to $400.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 19th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have given a Buy rating, twelve have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, American Express currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $365.42.

American Express Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE AXP opened at $318.50 on Friday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $315.64 and its 200 day moving average price is $324.84. American Express Company has a 1 year low of $290.97 and a 1 year high of $387.49. The company has a market capitalization of $213.57 billion, a PE ratio of 17.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.36 and a beta of 1.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64, a quick ratio of 1.58 and a current ratio of 1.58.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, October 23rd. The payment services company reported $4.68 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.50 by $0.18. The company had revenue of $20.06 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $20.12 billion. American Express had a net margin of 15.80% and a return on equity of 34.19%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $4.14 earnings per share. American Express has set its FY 2026 guidance at 17.600-17.900 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that American Express Company will post 17.98 earnings per share for the current year.

American Express Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, November 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 9th were given a dividend of $0.95 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, October 9th. This represents a $3.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.2%. American Express’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 21.40%.

About American Express

American Express Company is a global payments and financial services company that operates a card-issuing business and a payments network. Its products and services include consumer, small-business and corporate cards, payment processing, lending, travel services and expense-management solutions. Founded in 1850 as an express mail business, the company expanded into financial services and became known for its charge cards and travel-related services. Today, it serves cardholders and businesses in the United States and markets around the world, connecting customers, merchants and financial institutions through its network.