American Express (NYSE:AXP) Given New $244.00 Price Target at JPMorgan Chase & Co.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) had its price objective dropped by stock analysts at JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $325.00 to $244.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a “neutral” rating on the payment services company’s stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co.‘s price objective indicates a potential downside of 7.20% from the stock’s current price.

Several other equities analysts also recently commented on the stock. StockNews.com downgraded shares of American Express from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Baird R W raised American Express from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, March 14th. William Blair reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of American Express in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Bank of America dropped their price target on shares of American Express from $326.00 to $325.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, March 18th. Finally, BTIG Research upped their price objective on shares of American Express from $266.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have issued a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, American Express presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $299.24.

American Express Stock Up 13.6 %

AXP opened at $262.92 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $184.71 billion, a PE ratio of 18.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.16. The business has a 50-day moving average of $281.71 and a 200-day moving average of $288.51. American Express has a fifty-two week low of $214.51 and a fifty-two week high of $326.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64, a current ratio of 1.58 and a quick ratio of 1.57.

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

Insider Transactions at American Express

In other American Express news, Director Michael J. Angelakis acquired 3,700 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 7th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $269.89 per share, for a total transaction of $998,593.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 3,700 shares in the company, valued at $998,593. This represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Raymond Joabar sold 15,179 shares of American Express stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $313.94, for a total value of $4,765,295.26. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 23,866 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,492,492.04. This represents a 38.88 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of American Express

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in American Express by 2.3% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 11,752,084 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $3,484,312,000 after acquiring an additional 268,572 shares during the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of American Express by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 8,761,336 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $2,600,277,000 after purchasing an additional 95,927 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp increased its stake in shares of American Express by 16.3% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 6,825,135 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $2,025,632,000 after buying an additional 955,811 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new position in American Express in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,785,867,000. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its position in American Express by 8.9% during the 4th quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 5,015,269 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $1,488,482,000 after buying an additional 408,283 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

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.