American Express (NYSE:AXP) Given New $330.00 Price Target at The Goldman Sachs Group

American Express (NYSE:AXP) had its price objective reduced by The Goldman Sachs Group from $367.00 to $330.00 in a research report issued on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a “buy” rating on the payment services company’s stock. The Goldman Sachs Group’s price objective points to a potential upside of 25.71% from the company’s previous close.

Other research analysts have also issued research reports about the stock. Argus lowered shares of American Express from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday. Evercore ISI increased their price target on American Express from $315.00 to $344.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Monness Crespi & Hardt lifted their price objective on American Express from $330.00 to $355.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Robert W. Baird upgraded American Express from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $265.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Friday. Finally, Baird R W raised shares of American Express from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have given a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $303.52.

American Express Stock Performance

AXP stock traded down $1.88 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $262.51. 1,166,911 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,610,567. American Express has a one year low of $214.51 and a one year high of $326.28. The firm has a market capitalization of $184.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.21. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $300.85 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $288.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64, a current ratio of 1.58 and a quick ratio of 1.57.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last announced its earnings results on Friday, January 24th. The payment services company reported $3.04 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.00 by $0.04. American Express had a net margin of 15.36% and a return on equity of 32.65%. Equities research analysts forecast that American Express will post 15.33 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Michael J. Angelakis acquired 3,700 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 7th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $269.89 per share, for a total transaction of $998,593.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 3,700 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $998,593. The trade was a ? increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Ravikumar Radhakrishnan sold 9,485 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $319.17, for a total value of $3,027,327.45. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 13,500 shares in the company, valued at $4,308,795. The trade was a 41.27 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.12% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Prospera Private Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in American Express during the third quarter worth approximately $27,000. True Wealth Design LLC grew its position in shares of American Express by 332.0% during the 3rd 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 during the period. Investment Management Corp VA ADV bought a new stake in shares of American Express in the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. Sellwood Investment Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of American Express during the 4th quarter valued at $33,000. Finally, Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp bought a new position in American Express during the fourth quarter worth $33,000. 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.