FARMERS & MERCHANTS TRUST Co OF LONG BEACH Sells 10,261 Shares of American Express Company $AXP

FARMERS & MERCHANTS TRUST Co OF LONG BEACH cut its holdings in American Express Company (NYSE:AXP) by 34.8% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 19,230 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 10,261 shares during the quarter. American Express accounts for 1.3% of FARMERS & MERCHANTS TRUST Co OF LONG BEACH’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 15th largest holding. FARMERS & MERCHANTS TRUST Co OF LONG BEACH’s holdings in American Express were worth $6,387,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of AXP. McGlone Suttner Wealth Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of American Express by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter. McGlone Suttner Wealth Management Inc. now owns 2,910 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $967,000 after acquiring an additional 29 shares during the period. Sandy Cove Advisors LLC increased its stake in American Express by 2.1% in the third quarter. Sandy Cove Advisors LLC now owns 1,462 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $485,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares in the last quarter. Bath Savings Trust Co increased its stake in American Express by 1.1% in the third quarter. Bath Savings Trust Co now owns 2,922 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $971,000 after purchasing an additional 31 shares in the last quarter. Jamison Private Wealth Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of American Express by 0.7% during the third quarter. Jamison Private Wealth Management Inc. now owns 4,220 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $1,402,000 after purchasing an additional 31 shares during the period. Finally, Berger Financial Group Inc boosted its position in shares of American Express by 1.4% during the 3rd quarter. Berger Financial Group Inc now owns 2,232 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $741,000 after purchasing an additional 31 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AXP has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on American Express from $400.00 to $425.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 17th. Weiss Ratings raised American Express from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on American Express from $371.00 to $394.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 1st. Barclays increased 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, Wolfe Research assumed coverage on shares of American Express in a research report on Monday, December 8th. They issued a “peer perform” rating for the company. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seventeen have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $352.82.

American Express News Summary

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

• Positive Sentiment: Some analysts and commentators say AXP is resilient and could absorb regulatory changes better than peers — a view that supports the stock amid headline risk. American Express stock well-positioned to weather Trump’s credit card cap
• Positive Sentiment: JPMorgan raised its price target on AXP to $385 (neutral rating), suggesting upside exists if company fundamentals hold — a counterweight to headline-driven selling. Benzinga analyst price target note
• Neutral Sentiment: Opinion pieces argue a 10% cap “won’t break anything,” noting scenarios where AXP could adapt through fees, product mix or underwriting changes — outcome depends on regulatory specifics. Seeking Alpha analysis
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst coverage remains mixed: the broker consensus is largely “Hold,” reflecting divided views on policy risk vs. long‑run card franchise strength. Consensus rating report
• Negative Sentiment: President Trump’s public push for a 10% cap is the immediate headline driver; markets are pricing regulatory uncertainty that could compress card yields and rewards economics. CNBC coverage
• Negative Sentiment: Big‑bank executives warn a cap could reduce consumer access to credit and hurt revenue, amplifying investor concern about loan loss, underwriting shifts and lower interchange income for card issuers like AXP. Fox Business report
• Negative Sentiment: Market reaction: coverage shows premarket and intraday selling in bank and card stocks, plus at least one downgrade and headlines noting AXP shares falling — sentiment is pressured while political risk remains unresolved. Seeking Alpha downgrade
• Negative Sentiment: News outlets and market reports flagged sharp intraday moves and analyst notes calling out the policy risk as the primary reason for AXP’s recent weakness. Zacks coverage

American Express Trading Down 0.5%

Shares of American Express stock opened at $357.85 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $246.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.15. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $368.96 and a 200 day simple moving average of $340.50. American Express Company has a 12-month low of $220.43 and a 12-month high of $387.49. The company has a current ratio of 1.61, a quick ratio of 1.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.78.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 30th. The payment services company reported ($11.85) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.56 by ($15.41). The firm had revenue of ($17,139.00) million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $18.91 billion. American Express had a return on equity of 33.41% and a net margin of 14.97%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that American Express Company will post 15.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Express Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 2nd will be paid a $0.82 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 2nd. This represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.9%. American Express’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 22.01%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other American Express news, CMO Elizabeth Rutledge sold 50,000 shares of American Express stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $360.21, for a total transaction of $18,010,500.00. Following the transaction, the chief marketing officer owned 85,577 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $30,825,691.17. This trade represents a 36.88% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Douglas Tabish sold 2,515 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $355.61, for a total value of $894,359.15. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 2,515 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $894,359.15. This represents a 50.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 57,515 shares of company stock valued at $20,658,509 in the last 90 days. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

American Express Profile

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.