American Express (NYSE:AXP) Stock Price Expected to Rise, UBS Group Analyst Says

American Express (NYSE:AXP) had its target price increased by UBS Group from $283.00 to $320.00 in a report published on Monday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have a neutral rating on the payment services company’s stock.

Other research analysts also recently issued research reports about the stock. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of American Express from $250.00 to $257.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on American Express from $270.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Bank of America raised their price objective on American Express from $263.00 to $265.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 17th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on American Express from $252.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, Hsbc Global Res cut shares of American Express from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, American Express has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $277.82.

American Express Price Performance

NYSE:AXP opened at $297.33 on Monday. American Express has a 52-week low of $177.81 and a 52-week high of $307.82. The company has a market cap of $209.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.88, a P/E/G ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 1.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80, a quick ratio of 1.63 and a current ratio of 1.63. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $297.43 and its 200 day simple moving average is $270.12.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, October 18th. The payment services company reported $3.49 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.27 by $0.22. The firm had revenue of $16.64 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.68 billion. American Express had a return on equity of 32.46% and a net margin of 15.32%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 8.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $3.30 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that American Express will post 13.4 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Express Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 3rd will be paid a dividend of $0.70 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 3rd. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.94%. American Express’s payout ratio is 20.60%.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Anre D. Williams sold 77,887 shares of American Express stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $270.26, for a total value of $21,049,740.62. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 111,656 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $30,176,150.56. This trade represents a 41.09 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Vice Chairman Douglas E. Buckminster sold 13,111 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $270.98, for a total value of $3,552,818.78. Following the sale, the insider now owns 109,691 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $29,724,067.18. The trade was a 10.68 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 96,998 shares of company stock worth $26,423,439. 0.12% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Prospera Private Wealth LLC acquired a new position in American Express during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Kennebec Savings Bank bought a new stake in shares of American Express during the third quarter worth $29,000. True Wealth Design LLC increased its holdings in shares of American Express by 332.0% during the third quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 108 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 83 shares in the last quarter. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. bought a new position in shares of American Express in the 3rd quarter valued at $38,000. Finally, Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of American Express during the 3rd quarter valued at $46,000. 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.