Analysts Set American Express (NYSE:AXP) PT at $225.50

Shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) have received a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the twenty-five research firms that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, eleven have given a hold recommendation and eleven have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $225.50.

AXP has been the topic of several analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on American Express from $167.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a report on Monday, April 22nd. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on American Express from $253.00 to $263.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 1st. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on American Express from $275.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 9th. BTIG Research started coverage on American Express in a report on Friday, June 7th. They issued a “neutral” rating on the stock. Finally, Oppenheimer restated an “outperform” rating on shares of American Express in a report on Friday, April 5th.

American Express Trading Down 0.1 %

NYSE AXP opened at $238.63 on Thursday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $234.97 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $219.88. American Express has a twelve month low of $140.91 and a twelve month high of $244.41. The company has a quick ratio of 1.62, a current ratio of 1.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.70. The company has a market capitalization of $171.65 billion, a price-to-earnings 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 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.97 by $0.36. The firm had revenue of $15.80 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.79 billion. American Express had a return on equity of 32.46% and a net margin of 14.50%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 10.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.40 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that American Express will post 12.98 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Express Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 9th. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 5th will be given a dividend of $0.70 per share. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.17%. This is a boost from American Express’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.10. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, July 5th. American Express’s payout ratio is presently 23.06%.

Insider Buying and Selling at American Express

In other news, Vice Chairman Douglas E. Buckminster sold 117,309 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $232.44, for a total value of $27,267,303.96. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 110,318 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $25,642,315.92. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, Vice Chairman Douglas E. Buckminster sold 117,309 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $232.44, for a total value of $27,267,303.96. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 110,318 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $25,642,315.92. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Stephen J. Squeri sold 38,873 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $238.63, for a total value of $9,276,263.99. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 76,310 shares in the company, valued at $18,209,855.30. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 177,717 shares of company stock valued at $41,680,999. 0.12% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On American Express

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in AXP. Norges Bank bought a new position in American Express in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,112,747,000. Alphinity Investment Management Pty Ltd bought a new position in American Express in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $433,709,000. TD Asset Management Inc lifted its position in American Express by 62.1% in the 4th quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 2,399,494 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $449,521,000 after acquiring an additional 919,337 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its position in American Express by 1,313.2% in the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 768,769 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $1,440,210,000 after acquiring an additional 714,370 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in American Express by 21.1% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,839,276 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $713,202,000 after acquiring an additional 667,695 shares in the last quarter. 84.33% of the stock is owned by 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.