American Express (NYSE:AXP) Price Target Raised to $226.00

American Express (NYSE:AXP) had its target price upped by Morgan Stanley from $222.00 to $226.00 in a report released on Monday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an equal weight rating on the payment services company’s stock.

Other research analysts also recently issued research reports about the stock. Stephens raised shares of American Express from an underweight rating to an equal weight rating and increased their price objective for the company from $148.00 to $193.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 2nd. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of American Express from $188.00 to $206.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a report on Monday, January 29th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft initiated coverage on shares of American Express in a report on Wednesday, January 10th. They issued a buy rating and a $235.00 price target for the company. Oppenheimer reaffirmed an outperform rating on shares of American Express in a report on Friday, April 5th. Finally, Robert W. Baird downgraded shares of American Express from a neutral rating to an underperform rating and set a $190.00 price target for the company. in a report on Monday, January 8th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, American Express has an average rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $209.52.

American Express Trading Up 0.1 %

NYSE:AXP opened at $239.23 on Monday. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $172.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.33 and a beta of 1.23. American Express has a one year low of $140.91 and a one year high of $240.55. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $221.62 and a 200-day moving average price of $190.53.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 19th. The payment services company reported $3.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 business had revenue of $15.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.79 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.40 EPS. American Express’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that American Express will post 12.96 EPS for the current year.

American Express Cuts Dividend

The business also recently announced 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. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis 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 Activity at American Express

In related news, CEO Stephen J. Squeri sold 69,356 shares of American Express stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 12th. The shares were 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $26,022,097.16. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In related news, insider Howard Grosfield sold 7,029 shares of American Express stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $203.65, for a total transaction of $1,431,455.85. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 12,388 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,522,816.20. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Stephen J. Squeri sold 69,356 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $213.02, for a total transaction of $14,774,215.12. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 122,158 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $26,022,097.16. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 172,047 shares of company stock valued at $36,528,388 over the last ninety days. 0.11% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On American Express

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Game Plan Financial Advisors LLC boosted its stake in American Express by 62.5% in the first quarter. Game Plan Financial Advisors LLC now owns 130 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. Scarborough Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in American Express in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. BKM Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in American Express in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Tennessee Valley Asset Management Partners acquired a new stake in American Express in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Finally, Sachetta LLC acquired a new stake in American Express in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. 84.33% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.