Analysts Set American Express (NYSE:AXP) Price Target at $299.24

Shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) have been given a consensus rating of “Hold” by the twenty-six analysts that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, fifteen have given a hold recommendation and nine have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price objective among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $302.57.

AXP has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on American Express from $330.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Argus cut American Express from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, March 14th. William Blair reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of American Express in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Evercore ISI raised their price target on shares of American Express from $315.00 to $344.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of American Express from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th.

American Express Trading Up 2.8 %

Shares of AXP stock opened at $277.98 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $195.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.21. American Express has a 1 year low of $214.51 and a 1 year high of $326.28. The company has a current ratio of 1.58, a quick ratio of 1.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $297.92 and a 200 day simple moving average of $288.99.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last released its earnings results on Friday, January 24th. The payment services company reported $3.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.00 by $0.04. American Express had a return on equity of 32.65% and a net margin of 15.36%. On average, research analysts predict that American Express will post 15.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Express Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Investors of record on Friday, April 4th will be issued a $0.82 dividend. This is a positive change from American Express’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 4th. This represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.18%. American Express’s payout ratio is presently 23.41%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Ravikumar Radhakrishnan sold 9,485 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $319.17, for a total transaction of $3,027,327.45. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 13,500 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,308,795. This represents a 41.27 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Michael J. Angelakis bought 3,700 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 7th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $269.89 per share, with a total value of $998,593.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 3,700 shares in the company, valued at $998,593. This represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Company insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On American Express

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Prospera Private Wealth LLC bought a new stake in American Express during the 3rd quarter valued at $27,000. True Wealth Design LLC increased its position in shares of American Express by 332.0% during the third quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 108 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 83 shares in the last quarter. Investment Management Corp VA ADV bought a new position in American Express in the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. Sellwood Investment Partners LLC acquired a new position in American Express during the 4th quarter valued at about $33,000. Finally, Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp bought a new stake in American Express during the 4th quarter worth approximately $33,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

American Express Company Profile

American Express Company, together with its subsidiaries, operates as integrated payments company in the United States, Europe, the Middle East and Africa, the Asia Pacific, Australia, New Zealand, Latin America, Canada, the Caribbean, and Internationally. It operates through four segments: U.S. Consumer Services, Commercial Services, International Card Services, and Global Merchant and Network Services.