American Express (NYSE:AXP) PT Raised to $235.00

American Express (NYSE:AXP) had its price objective upped by Jefferies Financial Group from $225.00 to $235.00 in a research note published on Tuesday, Benzinga reports. They currently have a hold rating on the payment services company’s stock.

Other research analysts have also issued research reports about the stock. TD Cowen boosted their target price on shares of American Express from $221.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock a hold rating in a research report on Monday, April 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of American Express from $275.00 to $285.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research note on Tuesday. StockNews.com upgraded shares of American Express from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 23rd. Barclays upped their target price on shares of American Express from $221.00 to $223.00 and gave the stock an equal weight rating in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on shares of American Express from $253.00 to $263.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 1st. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $225.50.

American Express Stock Down 0.0 %

AXP stock opened at $238.71 on Tuesday. 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 has a 1 year low of $140.91 and a 1 year high of $244.41. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $234.97 and a 200 day simple moving average of $219.65. The firm has a market cap of $171.70 billion, a PE ratio of 19.66, a PEG ratio of 1.36 and a beta of 1.21.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 19th. The payment services company reported $3.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.97 by $0.36. American Express had a net margin of 14.50% and a return on equity of 32.46%. The business had revenue of $15.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.79 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.40 EPS. American Express’s quarterly revenue was up 10.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that American Express will post 12.98 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Express Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 9th. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 5th will be given a dividend of $0.70 per share. This is an increase 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 dividend yield of 1.17%. American Express’s dividend payout ratio is currently 23.06%.

Insider Transactions at American Express

In other news, EVP Quinn Jessica Lieberman sold 3,141 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $232.36, for a total transaction of $729,842.76. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 258 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $59,948.88. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, EVP Quinn Jessica Lieberman sold 3,141 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $232.36, for a total value of $729,842.76. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 258 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $59,948.88. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Anna Marrs sold 3,592 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, May 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $230.93, for a total transaction of $829,500.56. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 19,932 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,602,896.76. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 177,717 shares of company stock valued at $41,680,999 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of American Express

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in AXP. Scarborough Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in American Express in the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. BKM Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of American Express during the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. Tennessee Valley Asset Management Partners acquired a new stake in shares of American Express during the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. Pacifica Partners Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of American Express during the 4th quarter worth about $29,000. Finally, Baldwin Brothers LLC MA lifted its stake in shares of American Express by 134.8% during the 4th quarter. Baldwin Brothers LLC MA now owns 155 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 89 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.