American Express (NYSE:AXP) Price Target Raised to $225.00

American Express (NYSE:AXP) had its target price increased by TD Cowen from $221.00 to $225.00 in a research report released on Monday morning, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a hold rating on the payment services company’s stock.

A number of other research analysts have also recently commented on AXP. Barclays reaffirmed an equal weight rating and set a $221.00 price target (up previously from $220.00) on shares of American Express in a research report on Tuesday, April 9th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on American Express from $220.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on American Express from $229.00 to $243.00 and gave the stock an in-line rating in a report on Thursday, March 28th. Monness Crespi & Hardt raised American Express from a neutral rating to a buy rating and set a $245.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Friday, April 5th. Finally, DZ Bank cut American Express from a hold rating to a sell rating in a report on Thursday, January 4th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of Hold and an average price target of $209.52.

American Express Stock Up 0.1 %

Shares of NYSE AXP opened at $239.23 on Monday. American Express has a one year low of $140.91 and a one year high of $240.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.70, a current ratio of 1.62 and a quick ratio of 1.63. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $221.62 and its 200-day moving average price is $190.53. The stock has a market capitalization of $172.08 billion, a PE ratio of 19.71, a P/E/G ratio of 1.33 and a beta of 1.23.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 19th. The payment services company reported $3.33 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.97 by $0.36. American Express had a return on equity of 32.46% and a net margin of 14.50%. The firm had revenue of $15.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $15.79 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.40 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that American Express will post 12.96 EPS for the current year.

American Express Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 5th will be given a dividend of $0.10 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 4th. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.17%. American Express’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 23.06%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Stephen J. Squeri sold 69,356 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $213.02, for a total transaction of $14,774,215.12. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 122,158 shares in the company, valued at approximately $26,022,097.16. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, CEO Stephen J. Squeri sold 69,356 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $213.02, for a total transaction of $14,774,215.12. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 122,158 shares in the company, valued at approximately $26,022,097.16. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Howard Grosfield sold 7,029 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $203.65, for a total value of $1,431,455.85. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 12,388 shares in the company, valued at $2,522,816.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 172,047 shares of company stock worth $36,528,388. 0.11% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On American Express

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Spire Wealth Management lifted its holdings in American Express by 1.0% in the 1st quarter. Spire Wealth Management now owns 4,315 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $983,000 after buying an additional 42 shares during the period. CIC Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in American Express by 3.2% in the 1st quarter. CIC Wealth LLC now owns 1,518 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $346,000 after buying an additional 47 shares during the period. Aspiriant LLC lifted its holdings in American Express by 0.8% in the 1st quarter. Aspiriant LLC now owns 6,330 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $1,441,000 after buying an additional 48 shares during the period. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC lifted its holdings in American Express by 3.4% in the 4th quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,490 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $279,000 after buying an additional 49 shares during the period. Finally, Level Four Advisory Services LLC lifted its holdings in American Express by 2.3% in the 4th quarter. Level Four Advisory Services LLC now owns 2,188 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $410,000 after buying an additional 50 shares during the period. 84.33% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.