American Express (NYSE:AXP) Price Target Raised to $248.00 at Morgan Stanley

American Express (NYSE:AXP) had its target price hoisted by Morgan Stanley from $226.00 to $248.00 in a research note published on Monday morning, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an equal weight rating on the payment services company’s stock.

A number of other brokerages have also recently commented on AXP. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on American Express from $265.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research note on Monday, July 8th. Hsbc Global Res lowered shares of American Express from a strong-buy rating to a hold rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on shares of American Express from $270.00 to $300.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research note on Monday, October 7th. Bank of America raised their target price on American Express from $263.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 17th. Finally, Monness Crespi & Hardt upped their target price on American Express from $265.00 to $300.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a report on Monday. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have given a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of Hold and an average target price of $242.33.

American Express Stock Up 0.2 %

Shares of AXP opened at $276.79 on Monday. American Express has a 1 year low of $140.91 and a 1 year high of $277.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74, a current ratio of 1.66 and a quick ratio of 1.66. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $257.46 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $242.52. The firm has a market cap of $199.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.80, a P/E/G ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 1.21.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last issued its earnings results on Friday, July 19th. The payment services company reported $3.49 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.26 by $0.23. American Express had a net margin of 15.53% and a return on equity of 32.94%. The company had revenue of $16.33 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.60 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.89 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 9.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts forecast that American Express will post 13.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Express Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 8th. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 4th will be issued a $0.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 4th. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.01%. American Express’s dividend payout ratio is presently 23.06%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On American Express

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Scarborough Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of American Express in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Game Plan Financial Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of American Express by 62.5% during the first quarter. Game Plan Financial Advisors LLC now owns 130 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. Creekmur Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of American Express in the 4th quarter valued at $32,000. Riverview Trust Co purchased a new position in American Express in the 1st quarter worth $38,000. Finally, DHJJ Financial Advisors Ltd. grew its stake in American Express by 42.2% during the 2nd quarter. DHJJ Financial Advisors Ltd. now owns 165 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 49 shares during the last quarter. 84.33% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.