American Express (NYSE:AXP) Price Target Increased to $300.00 by Analysts at Wells Fargo & Company

American Express (NYSE:AXP) had its price target boosted by Wells Fargo & Company from $285.00 to $300.00 in a research note released on Monday, Benzinga reports. Wells Fargo & Company currently has an overweight rating on the payment services company’s stock.

AXP has been the topic of several other research reports. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on American Express from $225.00 to $235.00 and gave the company a hold rating in a report on Tuesday, July 9th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on American Express from $265.00 to $280.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a report on Monday, July 8th. Citigroup began coverage on American Express in a research note on Monday, June 10th. They set a neutral rating and a $250.00 target price for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on American Express from $240.00 to $268.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a report on Monday, July 8th. Finally, Monness Crespi & Hardt raised their price objective on shares of American Express from $260.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a report on Monday, July 22nd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, American Express currently has an average rating of Hold and an average target price of $231.43.

American Express Stock Performance

Shares of American Express stock opened at $270.90 on Monday. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $252.74 and a 200-day simple moving average of $239.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74, a quick ratio of 1.66 and a current ratio of 1.66. American Express has a one year low of $140.91 and a one year high of $272.68. The company has a market cap of $194.86 billion, a PE ratio of 22.31, a P/E/G ratio of 1.48 and a beta of 1.21.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, July 19th. The payment services company reported $3.49 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.60 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.89 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 9.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts forecast that American Express will post 13.13 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Express Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 8th. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 4th will be given a dividend of $0.70 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 4th. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.03%. American Express’s payout ratio is 23.06%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On American Express

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its stake in shares of American Express by 8.5% in the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 8,447,441 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $1,923,399,000 after acquiring an additional 662,382 shares during the period. TD Asset Management Inc lifted its position in American Express by 8.2% in the first quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 2,595,370 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $590,940,000 after purchasing an additional 195,876 shares during the period. Boston Partners boosted its holdings in American Express by 22.2% in the 1st quarter. Boston Partners now owns 2,129,175 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $485,525,000 after purchasing an additional 387,166 shares in the last quarter. Alphinity Investment Management Pty Ltd purchased a new stake in American Express in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $433,709,000. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB increased its position in American Express by 14.2% during the 1st quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,798,742 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $408,494,000 after purchasing an additional 224,079 shares during the period. 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.