American Express (NYSE:AXP) Price Target Increased to $175.00 by Analysts at BMO Capital Markets

American Express (NYSE:AXP) had its target price raised by research analysts at BMO Capital Markets from $167.00 to $175.00 in a research note issued to investors on Monday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an “underperform” rating on the payment services company’s stock. BMO Capital Markets’ price target points to a potential downside of 26.74% from the company’s previous close.

Several other research firms also recently commented on AXP. StockNews.com downgraded American Express from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, April 15th. DZ Bank downgraded American Express from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Thursday, January 4th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on American Express from $220.00 to $226.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, January 29th. Barclays reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and set a $221.00 price target (up from $220.00) on shares of American Express in a report on Tuesday, April 9th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft initiated coverage on American Express in a report on Wednesday, January 10th. They set a “buy” rating and a $235.00 price target on the stock. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, American Express has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $208.24.

American Express Trading Up 2.5 %

NYSE AXP opened at $238.88 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.63, a current ratio of 1.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69. American Express has a twelve month low of $140.91 and a twelve month high of $239.42. The firm has a market capitalization of $172.92 billion, a PE ratio of 19.68, a P/E/G ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 1.23. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $221.05 and its 200 day moving average is $190.19.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last released its earnings results on Friday, April 19th. The payment services company reported $3.33 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.97 by $0.36. American Express had a return on equity of 32.39% and a net margin of 14.50%. The business had revenue of $15.80 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.79 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.40 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts forecast that American Express will post 12.92 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other American Express news, insider Howard Grosfield sold 7,029 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the insider now owns 12,388 shares in the company, valued at $2,522,816.20. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 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 stock was sold at an average price of $213.02, for a total transaction of $14,774,215.12. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 122,158 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $26,022,097.16. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, 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 value of $1,431,455.85. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 12,388 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,522,816.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 172,047 shares of company stock worth $36,528,388 over the last quarter. 0.11% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of American Express

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. CIC Wealth LLC raised its stake in American Express by 3.2% during the 1st quarter. CIC Wealth LLC now owns 1,518 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $346,000 after purchasing an additional 47 shares during the period. Aspiriant LLC raised its stake in American Express by 0.8% during the 1st quarter. Aspiriant LLC now owns 6,330 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $1,441,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares during the period. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC raised its stake in American Express by 3.4% during the 4th quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,490 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $279,000 after purchasing an additional 49 shares during the period. Level Four Advisory Services LLC raised its stake in American Express by 2.3% during the 4th quarter. Level Four Advisory Services LLC now owns 2,188 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $410,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares during the period. Finally, Game Plan Financial Advisors LLC grew its holdings in 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 valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

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.