Brokerages Set American Express (NYSE:AXP) Price Target at $210.71

Shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) have been assigned an average rating of “Hold” from the twenty-three ratings firms that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. The average 1 year price target among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $210.71.

Several brokerages recently issued reports on AXP. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on American Express from $167.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research report on Monday, April 22nd. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on American Express from $222.00 to $226.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, April 22nd. William Blair reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of American Express in a research report on Friday, April 26th. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on American Express from $190.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 1st. Finally, StockNews.com raised American Express from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 23rd.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Vice Chairman Douglas E. Buckminster sold 117,309 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $232.44, for a total transaction of $27,267,303.96. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 110,318 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $25,642,315.92. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, CEO Stephen J. Squeri sold 38,873 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $238.63, for a total value of $9,276,263.99. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 76,310 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $18,209,855.30. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Vice Chairman Douglas E. Buckminster sold 117,309 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $232.44, for a total value of $27,267,303.96. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 110,318 shares in the company, valued at $25,642,315.92. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 177,717 shares of company stock worth $41,680,999 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of American Express

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Norges Bank bought a new position in American Express in the fourth quarter valued at about $1,112,747,000. Alphinity Investment Management Pty Ltd bought a new position in shares of American Express during the first quarter worth about $433,709,000. Boston Partners bought a new position in shares of American Express during the third quarter worth about $210,540,000. TD Asset Management Inc raised its position in shares of American Express by 62.1% during the fourth quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 2,399,494 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $449,521,000 after acquiring an additional 919,337 shares during the last quarter. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its position in shares of American Express by 1,313.2% during the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 768,769 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $1,440,210,000 after acquiring an additional 714,370 shares during the last quarter. 84.33% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

American Express Price Performance

American Express stock opened at $238.17 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $171.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.62, a PEG ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 1.20. American Express has a 1 year low of $140.91 and a 1 year high of $244.41. The business has a 50-day moving average of $230.50 and a 200-day moving average of $203.92. The company has a current ratio of 1.62, a quick ratio of 1.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.70.

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, topping the consensus estimate of $2.97 by $0.36. The company had revenue of $15.80 billion during 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%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.40 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that American Express will post 13.01 EPS for the current year.

American Express Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 9th. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 5th will be given a dividend of $0.70 per share. This is a boost from American Express’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.10. The ex-dividend date is Friday, July 5th. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.18%. American Express’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 23.06%.

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.