Central Bank & Trust Co. Purchases 1,761 Shares of American Express Company $AXP

Central Bank & Trust Co. increased its holdings in American Express Company (NYSE:AXP) by 63.6% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,531 shares of the payment services company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,761 shares during the period. Central Bank & Trust Co.’s holdings in American Express were worth $1,378,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Breakwater Capital Group raised its position in shares of American Express by 108.4% in the 3rd quarter. Breakwater Capital Group now owns 3,895 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $1,184,000 after purchasing an additional 2,026 shares in the last quarter. Chapin Davis Inc. grew its holdings in shares of American Express by 31.1% during the third quarter. Chapin Davis Inc. now owns 2,008 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $611,000 after buying an additional 476 shares in the last quarter. LifeGoal Investments LLC acquired a new position in American Express in the 3rd quarter worth about $208,000. Monument Capital Management raised its holdings in American Express by 10.7% during the third quarter. Monument Capital Management now owns 1,244 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $378,000 after buying an additional 120 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Stableford Capital II LLC acquired a new stake in American Express in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $1,123,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

More American Express News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Royal Bank of Canada maintained an “outperform” rating on American Express while lowering its price target from $415 to $400. The revised target still implies substantial upside from recent trading levels. RBC American Express price target report
• Positive Sentiment: American Express continues investing in growth initiatives, including a new corporate platform and programs helping merchants prepare for AI-driven and “agentic” commerce. These efforts could support future payment volume and customer engagement, although their financial impact remains uncertain. American Express corporate platform article
• Neutral Sentiment: Investors are awaiting American Express’ quarterly results on October 23. Earnings will be important for assessing spending trends, credit quality and whether the company remains on track for its fiscal 2026 EPS guidance of $17.30 to $17.90.
• Negative Sentiment: The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency assessed a $350 million civil money penalty and issued a cease-and-desist order after identifying significant weaknesses in American Express’ enterprise-wide AML program, particularly at its national bank subsidiary. OCC penalty announcement
• Negative Sentiment: Regulators said the deficiencies persisted for nearly 11 years and left approximately $13 billion in suspected money-laundering activity inadequately monitored or reported. The direct financial penalty is manageable relative to American Express’ size, but remediation costs, enhanced oversight, reputational damage and potential restrictions on growth create longer-term risks. American Express AML penalty analysis

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have weighed in on AXP. President Capital lifted their price objective on American Express from $359.00 to $400.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 19th. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on shares of American Express from $385.00 to $382.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, July 27th. HSBC raised their target price on shares of American Express from $312.00 to $329.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, July 13th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on American Express from $400.00 to $410.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 6th. Finally, Barclays decreased their price target on shares of American Express from $364.00 to $342.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Buy rating, fifteen have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $364.52.

American Express Stock Up 0.0%

Shares of American Express stock traded up $0.03 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $308.13. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,190,983 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,240,698. The company has a market capitalization of $208.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.68, a P/E/G ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 1.08. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $325.07 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $324.99. American Express Company has a one year low of $290.97 and a one year high of $387.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.66, a quick ratio of 1.54 and a current ratio of 1.55.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 24th. The payment services company reported $4.53 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.41 by $0.12. American Express had a return on equity of 34.12% and a net margin of 15.07%.The firm had revenue of $14.99 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $19.70 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $4.08 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.0% on a year-over-year basis. American Express has set its FY 2026 guidance at 17.300-17.900 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that American Express Company will post 17.67 earnings per share for the current year.

American Express Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, November 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 9th will be given a dividend of $0.95 per share. This represents a $3.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 9th. American Express’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 23.06%.

American Express Profile

American Express Company (NYSE: AXP) is a global financial services company that provides payment, lending, travel and related products to consumers, small businesses and corporate customers. Its offerings include consumer and business charge and credit cards, payment solutions, commercial financing, deposit products and rewards programs.

American Express also operates a worldwide merchant network and provides businesses with payment acceptance services, transaction-processing capabilities and data-driven marketing solutions.