American Express (NYSE:AXP) Price Target Raised to $260.00

American Express (NYSE:AXP) had its target price upped by research analysts at JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $244.00 to $260.00 in a report released on Monday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a “neutral” rating on the payment services company’s stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co.‘s target price points to a potential upside of 8.25% from the stock’s current price.

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently weighed in on the stock. Argus cut shares of American Express from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, March 14th. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price objective on American Express from $367.00 to $330.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, March 18th. StockNews.com downgraded American Express from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Baird R W upgraded shares of American Express from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, March 14th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of American Express from $283.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have assigned a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, American Express has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $292.33.

American Express Trading Down 4.4 %

NYSE:AXP traded down $11.13 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $240.18. The company had a trading volume of 1,562,124 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,863,095. The company has a 50-day moving average of $272.87 and a 200 day moving average of $287.84. 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 company has a market cap of $168.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.14, a P/E/G ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.16. American Express has a 1 year low of $220.43 and a 1 year high of $326.28.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 17th. The payment services company reported $3.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.47 by $0.17. The business had revenue of $16.97 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $17.04 billion. American Express had a net margin of 15.36% and a return on equity of 32.65%. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $3.33 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that American Express will post 15.33 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Raymond Joabar sold 15,179 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 28th. The stock was 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 directly owns 23,866 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,492,492.04. This trade represents a 38.88 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Ravikumar Radhakrishnan sold 9,485 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $319.17, for a total value of $3,027,327.45. Following the sale, the insider now owns 13,500 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,308,795. The trade was a 41.27 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On American Express

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of American Express by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,142 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $636,000 after purchasing an additional 33 shares in the last quarter. Catalina Capital Group LLC grew its holdings in American Express by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Catalina Capital Group LLC now owns 3,356 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $996,000 after buying an additional 34 shares during the last quarter. Boston Financial Mangement LLC increased its position in American Express by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Boston Financial Mangement LLC now owns 4,007 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $1,189,000 after buying an additional 34 shares in the last quarter. Sunflower Bank N.A. raised its holdings in shares of American Express by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Sunflower Bank N.A. now owns 4,054 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $1,203,000 after acquiring an additional 35 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Foster & Motley Inc. lifted its position in shares of American Express by 2.1% in the fourth quarter. Foster & Motley Inc. now owns 1,716 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $509,000 after acquiring an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. 84.33% of the stock is currently 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.