American Express (NYSE:AXP) Price Target Increased to $205.00 by Analysts at Robert W. Baird

American Express (NYSE:AXP) had its target price hoisted by Robert W. Baird from $190.00 to $205.00 in a research report sent to investors on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an underperform rating on the payment services company’s stock.

Several other equities research analysts also recently weighed in on AXP. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of American Express from $214.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. Barclays reiterated an equal weight rating and set a $221.00 target price (up previously from $220.00) on shares of American Express in a research note on Tuesday, April 9th. William Blair reiterated an outperform rating on shares of American Express in a research note on Friday, April 26th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their target price on shares of American Express from $240.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. Finally, DZ Bank downgraded shares of American Express from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research note on Thursday, January 4th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of Hold and an average target price of $210.71.

American Express Stock Performance

NYSE:AXP opened at $231.46 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $166.49 billion, a PE ratio of 19.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.36 and a beta of 1.23. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $223.94 and its 200 day moving average price is $193.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.70, a current ratio of 1.62 and a quick ratio of 1.62. American Express has a 12 month low of $140.91 and a 12 month high of $240.55.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last posted its earnings results on Friday, April 19th. The payment services company reported $3.33 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.97 by $0.36. The firm had revenue of $15.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.79 billion. American Express had a return on equity of 32.46% and a net margin of 14.50%. American Express’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.40 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that American Express will post 12.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Express Cuts Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling at American Express

In other American Express news, insider Monique Herena sold 11,242 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 8th. The shares were 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 $2,891,480.34. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other news, insider Monique Herena sold 11,242 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $208.41, for a total transaction 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 sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Stephen J. Squeri sold 38,873 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $238.63, for a total transaction of $9,276,263.99. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 76,310 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $18,209,855.30. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 203,891 shares of company stock valued at $44,373,196. Corporate insiders own 0.11% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Game Plan Financial Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of American Express by 62.5% during the 1st quarter. Game Plan Financial Advisors LLC now owns 130 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. Scarborough Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in American Express in the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. BKM Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in American Express in the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Tennessee Valley Asset Management Partners purchased a new stake in American Express in the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Finally, Sachetta LLC purchased a new stake in American Express in the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. 84.33% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About American Express

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.