American Express (NYSE:AXP) Price Target Increased to $260.00 by Analysts at Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft

American Express (NYSE:AXP) had its target price upped by Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft from $240.00 to $260.00 in a research report sent to investors on Monday morning, Benzinga reports. They currently have a buy rating on the payment services company’s stock.

Several other research firms have also issued reports on AXP. DZ Bank lowered American Express from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research note on Thursday, January 4th. UBS Group increased their target price on American Express from $188.00 to $206.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a research note on Monday, January 29th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on American Express from $222.00 to $226.00 and gave the stock an equal weight rating in a research note on Monday. Stephens upgraded American Express from an underweight rating to an equal weight rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $148.00 to $193.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 2nd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on American Express from $167.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an underperform rating in a research note on Monday. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $209.52.

American Express Stock Down 0.8 %

NYSE:AXP opened at $237.10 on Monday. American Express has a 1 year low of $140.91 and a 1 year high of $240.55. The company has a current ratio of 1.62, a quick ratio of 1.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.70. The stock has a market cap of $170.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.53, a PEG ratio of 1.36 and a beta of 1.23. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $222.11 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $190.85.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last posted its earnings results on Friday, April 19th. The payment services company reported $3.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.97 by $0.36. The firm had revenue of $15.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $15.79 billion. American Express had a return on equity of 32.46% and a net margin of 14.50%. The company’s revenue was up 10.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.40 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that American Express will post 12.98 earnings per share for the current year.

American Express Cuts Dividend

The firm 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 $0.10 dividend. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.17%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 4th. American Express’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 23.06%.

Insider Transactions at American Express

In other news, insider Monique Herena sold 11,242 shares of American Express stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $208.41, for a total value of $2,342,945.22. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 13,874 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,891,480.34. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, insider Monique Herena sold 11,242 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $208.41, for a total value of $2,342,945.22. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 13,874 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,891,480.34. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Howard Grosfield sold 7,029 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $203.65, for a total value of $1,431,455.85. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 12,388 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,522,816.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 210,920 shares of company stock valued at $45,804,652. Corporate insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On American Express

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Scarborough Advisors LLC acquired a new position in American Express during the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. BKM Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in American Express during the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Tennessee Valley Asset Management Partners acquired a new position in American Express during the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. BluePath Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in American Express during the 3rd quarter valued at about $29,000. Finally, Pacifica Partners Inc. acquired a new position in American Express during the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. 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.