Willis Investment Counsel Has $20.97 Million Stock Holdings in American Express Company $AXP

Willis Investment Counsel increased its holdings in American Express Company (NYSE:AXP) by 5.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 56,680 shares of the payment services company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,863 shares during the period. Willis Investment Counsel’s holdings in American Express were worth $20,969,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Trajan Wealth LLC increased its holdings 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 buying an additional 5,881 shares in the last quarter. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of American Express by 218.7% during the third quarter. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. now owns 8,540 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $2,837,000 after buying an additional 5,860 shares in the last quarter. ZEGA Investments LLC acquired a new stake in shares of American Express during the third quarter worth approximately $1,080,000. Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of American Express by 11.7% during the third 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of American Express by 0.3% during the third 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 in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at American Express

In other news, insider Howard Grosfield sold 8,134 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $346.73, for a total transaction of $2,820,301.82. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 9,433 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $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 is available through this link. Also, insider Ravikumar Radhakrishnan sold 15,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $356.58, for a total transaction 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 trade represents a 62.64% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 73,944 shares of company stock valued at $26,114,366 over the last three months. 0.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Truist Financial dropped their price objective on shares of American Express from $400.00 to $360.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of American Express from $385.00 to $375.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 2nd. UBS Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $395.00 price objective on shares of American Express in a report on Wednesday, February 4th. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $420.00 price objective on shares of American Express in a report on Tuesday, January 6th. Finally, Credit Suisse Group set a $328.00 price objective on shares of American Express in a report on Monday, January 12th. Nine research 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 MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $350.86.

American Express Price Performance

AXP opened at $316.54 on Thursday. American Express Company has a one year low of $226.26 and a one year high of $387.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.68, a current ratio of 1.59 and a quick ratio of 1.58. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $320.50 and its 200-day simple moving average is $345.32. The stock has a market capitalization of $217.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 1.13.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last released its quarterly earnings results 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). American Express had a net margin of 15.00% and a return on equity of 33.49%. The company had revenue of ($17,139.00) million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $18.91 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $3.04 earnings per share. American Express’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.5% compared to the same quarter last year. American Express has set its FY 2026 guidance at 17.300-17.900 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that American Express Company will post 15.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Express Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 8th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 3rd will be paid a dividend of $0.95 per share. This represents a $3.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.2%. This is an increase from American Express’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.82. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 2nd. American Express’s payout ratio is currently 24.69%.

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.