Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. Raises Stock Holdings in American Express Company $AXP

Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. grew its holdings in American Express Company (NYSE:AXP) by 7.3% in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 31,282 shares of the payment services company’s stock after buying an additional 2,134 shares during the quarter. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD.’s holdings in American Express were worth $10,391,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Stratos Investment Management LLC raised its position in shares of American Express by 1.2% during the 3rd quarter. Stratos Investment Management LLC now owns 39,958 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $13,273,000 after purchasing an additional 483 shares during the last quarter. Wealthstream Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in shares of American Express by 4.0% during the third quarter. Wealthstream Advisors Inc. now owns 851 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $283,000 after acquiring an additional 33 shares during the last quarter. Midwest Trust Co lifted its position in shares of American Express by 9.1% in the third quarter. Midwest Trust Co now owns 6,986 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $2,320,000 after acquiring an additional 584 shares in the last quarter. Wealthfront Advisers LLC increased its position in shares of American Express by 2.6% during the third quarter. Wealthfront Advisers LLC now owns 83,170 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $27,626,000 after purchasing an additional 2,112 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Navellier & Associates Inc. raised its stake in American Express by 89.8% in the 3rd quarter. Navellier & Associates Inc. now owns 3,226 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $1,072,000 after purchasing an additional 1,526 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

Key Headlines Impacting American Express

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

• Positive Sentiment: Expanded NBA partnership and marketing push should support premium card activation and brand engagement, a revenue-positive move that reinforces AmEx’s focus on experience-driven cardholders. NBA, American Express announce multiyear partnership
• Positive Sentiment: Q4 miss was tiny on EPS (beat/beat context: missed by $0.01) but Zacks highlights strength in premium spending, resilient credit trends and steady FY guidance — factors that have supported investor confidence after results. AmEx’s Q4 Earnings Miss Isn’t the Whole Story
• Positive Sentiment: Management presentation at the UBS Financial Services Conference provided investor access to strategy, portfolio metrics and outlook — visibility that can support valuation once digested by attendees and analysts. American Express Presents at UBS Conference — Slideshow
• Neutral Sentiment: American Express announced new debt issuances to boost funding — improves liquidity and funding flexibility but increases leverage and interest cost exposure; market reaction depends on size/terms. American Express Boosts Funding With New Debt Issuances
• Neutral Sentiment: Coverage/transcripts from Seeking Alpha provide incremental detail from conferences and management remarks — useful for modeling but not an immediate price catalyst by itself. American Express UBS Presentation Transcript
• Negative Sentiment: MarketWatch reports AXP underperformed peers on Wednesday — relative weakness can trigger sector rebalancing outflows and weigh on the stock. American Express Co. stock underperforms Wednesday
• Negative Sentiment: Evercore left an In-Line rating but trimmed its price target, a reminder analysts may be marginally lowering expectations — analyst PT cuts can pressure shares. Why Is American Express Stock Tuesday?

American Express Stock Performance

Shares of American Express stock opened at $354.18 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $243.18 billion, a PE ratio of 23.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 1.14. The company has a quick ratio of 1.66, a current ratio of 1.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.68. American Express Company has a 52 week low of $220.43 and a 52 week high of $387.49. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $368.26 and its 200-day simple moving average is $346.45.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last posted its earnings results on Friday, January 30th. The payment services company reported $3.53 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.54 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of ($17,139.00) million during 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 company’s quarterly revenue was up 10.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $3.04 EPS. American Express has set its FY 2026 guidance at 17.300-17.900 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that American Express Company will post 15.33 earnings per share for the current year.

American Express Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 2nd were given a dividend of $0.82 per share. This represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 2nd. American Express’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 21.31%.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Denise Pickett sold 23,385 shares of American Express stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $356.91, for a total value of $8,346,340.35. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 7,754 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,767,480.14. The trade was a 75.10% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Ravikumar Radhakrishnan sold 15,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 9th. The stock was 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 approximately $3,189,608.10. The trade was a 62.64% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 65,810 shares of company stock valued at $23,294,065. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have issued reports on AXP. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on shares of American Express in a research note on Monday, December 8th. They set a “peer perform” rating on the stock. Morgan Stanley set a $395.00 price target on shares of American Express in a research report on Tuesday, January 20th. Truist Financial cut their price objective on shares of American Express from $420.00 to $400.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 2nd. Barclays boosted their target price on American Express from $355.00 to $367.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 6th. Finally, UBS Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $395.00 price objective on shares of American Express in a research report on Wednesday, February 4th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fifteen have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, American Express currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $354.78.

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.