CSM Advisors LLC Sells 10,110 Shares of American Express Company $AXP

CSM Advisors LLC reduced its stake in shares of American Express Company (NYSE:AXP) by 51.5% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 9,530 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 10,110 shares during the period. CSM Advisors LLC’s holdings in American Express were worth $3,167,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AXP. Trajan Wealth LLC increased its position in shares of American Express by 30.9% during the third quarter. Trajan Wealth LLC now owns 24,901 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $8,271,000 after purchasing an additional 5,881 shares in the last quarter. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of American Express by 218.7% in the 3rd quarter. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. now owns 8,540 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $2,837,000 after purchasing an additional 5,860 shares in the last quarter. ZEGA Investments LLC acquired a new stake in shares of American Express in the 3rd quarter worth $1,080,000. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. grew its stake in American Express by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 1,598,743 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $531,038,000 after buying an additional 4,080 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in American Express by 11.7% during the 3rd quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group Inc. now owns 82,863 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $27,524,000 after buying an additional 8,651 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have commented on AXP shares. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on American Express from $400.00 to $425.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 17th. TD Cowen restated a “hold” rating on shares of American Express in a report on Thursday, January 8th. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of American Express from $355.00 to $367.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 6th. Morgan Stanley set a $395.00 target price on shares of American Express in a research note on Tuesday, January 20th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “buy” rating and set a $420.00 target price on shares of American Express in a research report on Tuesday, January 6th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $354.86.

Insider Buying and Selling at American Express

In other American Express news, insider Howard Grosfield sold 8,134 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the insider directly owned 9,433 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,270,704.09. This represents a 46.30% 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 Ravikumar Radhakrishnan sold 15,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $356.58, for a total value of $5,348,700.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 8,945 shares in the company, valued at $3,189,608.10. This represents a 62.64% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 73,944 shares of company stock valued at $26,114,366. Company insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Key American Express News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Company expanding cardmember benefits and partnerships in key markets (NY/NJ, Atlanta), supporting engagement and card spend trends which underpin revenue growth. American Express Expands Card Member Benefits
• Positive Sentiment: Longer-term demand signals: coverage pieces note younger consumer sign-ups and management’s mid-teens EPS growth target, reinforcing the company’s franchise strength and customer-acquisition pipeline. Is American Express Stock a Millionaire Maker?
• Neutral Sentiment: Valuation debate continues — AXP trades above industry multiples but below its own five‑year median; analysts differ on whether the premium is justified by durable spending and earnings growth. Is American Express a Buy Now Despite its Premium Valuation?
• Neutral Sentiment: Deeper valuation analysis: Zacks highlights AXP’s forward P/E well above peers but near its historical median, keeping the narrative mixed for value-focused investors. Zacks Valuation Analysis
• Neutral Sentiment: Credit metrics update: American Express reported largely stable credit metrics with some modest declines, suggesting asset-quality remains manageable but monitoring is warranted. TipRanks Credit Metrics Update
• Negative Sentiment: Unusually large put activity: traders bought ~43,272 put options today (≈+140% vs. average), signaling heightened bearish hedging/speculation that can amplify near-term downside.
• Negative Sentiment: Analyst cut: BTIG lowered its price target to $285 and moved to a “sell” rating, adding downward pressure by creating renewed sell-side skepticism. BTIG Price Target Cut (Benzinga)
• Negative Sentiment: Competitive threat: Robinhood’s planned platinum credit card rollout raises competitive concerns around customer acquisition and fee/rewards dynamics, which may worry investors focused on share gains and margin pressure. Robinhood Card Competitive Threat

American Express Price Performance

Shares of NYSE AXP opened at $298.05 on Tuesday. American Express Company has a 52 week low of $220.43 and a 52 week high of $387.49. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $342.37 and its 200 day moving average price is $348.92. The company has a quick ratio of 1.58, a current ratio of 1.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.68. The firm has a market cap of $204.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.37, a P/E/G ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 1.15.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 30th. The payment services company reported $3.53 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.54 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of ($17,139.00) million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $18.91 billion. American Express had a net margin of 15.00% and a return on equity of 33.49%. The business’s revenue was up 10.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $3.04 earnings per share. American Express has set its FY 2026 guidance at 17.300-17.900 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that American Express Company will post 15.33 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. Investors of record on Friday, April 3rd will be given a dividend of $0.95 per share. This is a boost from American Express’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.82. This represents a $3.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 2nd. American Express’s payout ratio is presently 21.31%.

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.