Citigroup Cuts American Express (NYSE:AXP) Price Target to $300.00

American Express (NYSE:AXP) had its price target decreased by Citigroup from $320.00 to $300.00 in a research note issued to investors on Monday,Benzinga reports. Citigroup currently has a neutral rating on the payment services company’s stock.

Several other research firms have also commented on AXP. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on shares of American Express from $350.00 to $360.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Truist Financial initiated coverage on shares of American Express in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $350.00 price target for the company. William Blair reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of American Express in a research note on Monday, January 27th. BTIG Research raised their price objective on American Express from $266.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on American Express from $330.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have assigned a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, American Express has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $302.57.

American Express Stock Down 1.2 %

AXP opened at $275.99 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $193.89 billion, a PE ratio of 19.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.21. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $296.76 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $289.15. The company has a quick ratio of 1.57, a current ratio of 1.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64. American Express has a 52 week low of $214.51 and a 52 week high of $326.28.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 24th. The payment services company reported $3.04 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.00 by $0.04. American Express had a return on equity of 32.65% and a net margin of 15.36%. Analysts forecast that American Express will post 15.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Express Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 4th will be paid a dividend of $0.82 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 4th. This represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.19%. This is a positive change from American Express’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. American Express’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 23.41%.

Insider Activity at American Express

In related news, Director Michael J. Angelakis purchased 3,700 shares of American Express stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the director now owns 3,700 shares in the company, valued at approximately $998,593. The trade was a ∞ increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Raymond Joabar sold 15,179 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $313.94, for a total value of $4,765,295.26. Following the sale, the insider now owns 23,866 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,492,492.04. This trade represents a 38.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.12% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On American Express

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in AXP. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. purchased a new stake in American Express during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $832,000. World Investment Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of American Express by 430.6% during the 3rd quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC now owns 4,765 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $1,292,000 after purchasing an additional 3,867 shares during the last quarter. Keybank National Association OH boosted its position in shares of American Express by 3.7% in the 4th quarter. Keybank National Association OH now owns 349,937 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $103,858,000 after purchasing an additional 12,364 shares in the last quarter. LVM Capital Management Ltd. MI grew its stake in American Express by 3.1% during the 4th quarter. LVM Capital Management Ltd. MI now owns 86,344 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $25,626,000 after buying an additional 2,557 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Edge Capital Group LLC increased its position in American Express by 20.9% during the 4th quarter. Edge Capital Group LLC now owns 6,451 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $1,915,000 after buying an additional 1,113 shares in the last quarter. 84.33% of the stock is currently owned by 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.