Analysts Set American Express (NYSE:AXP) PT at $299.24

Shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) have been given a consensus recommendation of “Hold” by the twenty-six research firms that are covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have issued a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $303.52.

AXP has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on American Express from $301.00 to $307.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Compass Point dropped their target price on shares of American Express from $325.00 to $309.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 27th. Evercore ISI upped their price target on shares of American Express from $315.00 to $344.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. William Blair reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of American Express in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Citigroup lifted their price objective on American Express from $305.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th.

American Express Trading Down 0.1 %

Shares of AXP opened at $270.48 on Tuesday. American Express has a twelve month low of $214.51 and a twelve month high of $326.28. The company has a current ratio of 1.58, a quick ratio of 1.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64. The firm has a market capitalization of $190.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.31, a PEG ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.21. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $298.30 and its two-hundred day moving average is $288.55.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 24th. The payment services company reported $3.04 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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%. On average, research analysts predict that American Express will post 15.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Express Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 4th will be paid a dividend of $0.82 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 4th. This represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.21%. This is an increase from American Express’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. American Express’s payout ratio is presently 23.41%.

Insider Activity at American Express

In other American Express news, Director Michael J. Angelakis purchased 3,700 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 7th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $269.89 per share, for a total transaction of $998,593.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 3,700 shares in the company, valued at $998,593. The trade was a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Ravikumar Radhakrishnan sold 9,485 shares of American Express stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $319.17, for a total transaction of $3,027,327.45. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 13,500 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,308,795. This trade represents a 41.27 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.12% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of American Express

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. GSA Capital Partners LLP grew its holdings in shares of American Express by 4.2% during the 3rd quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP now owns 2,655 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $720,000 after acquiring an additional 108 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its position in American Express by 2.0% during the third quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 14,291 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $3,876,000 after purchasing an additional 281 shares during the last quarter. Claro Advisors LLC grew its stake in American Express by 8.1% in the third quarter. Claro Advisors LLC now owns 2,209 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $599,000 after purchasing an additional 165 shares in the last quarter. Aljian Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in American Express in the 3rd quarter worth about $884,000. Finally, Aviso Wealth Management purchased a new stake in shares of American Express during the 3rd quarter worth about $595,000. 84.33% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.