American Express (NYSE:AXP) Stock Rating Lowered by StockNews.com

StockNews.com downgraded shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report published on Monday.

A number of other analysts also recently weighed in on AXP. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on American Express from $157.00 to $159.00 and gave the company an underperform rating in a research note on Monday, January 29th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on American Express from $220.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. Barclays restated an equal weight rating and issued a $221.00 price target (up from $220.00) on shares of American Express in a research note on Tuesday, April 9th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on American Express from $220.00 to $226.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research note on Monday, January 29th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on American Express from $186.00 to $205.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research note on Monday, December 18th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of Hold and an average price target of $201.62.

American Express Trading Up 0.1 %

Shares of AXP stock opened at $218.40 on Monday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $219.13 and its two-hundred day moving average is $186.88. American Express has a twelve month low of $140.91 and a twelve month high of $231.69. The company has a market capitalization of $158.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 1.23. The company has a current ratio of 1.63, a quick ratio of 1.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.71.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last announced its earnings results on Friday, January 26th. The payment services company reported $2.62 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.64 by ($0.02). American Express had a net margin of 13.84% and a return on equity of 30.99%. The company had revenue of $15.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.07 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that American Express will post 12.83 EPS for the current year.

American Express Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 10th. Investors of record on Friday, April 5th will be paid a $0.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 4th. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.18%. American Express’s payout ratio is currently 24.98%.

Insider Activity at American Express

In related news, CEO Stephen J. Squeri sold 69,356 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $213.02, for a total value of $14,774,215.12. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 122,158 shares in the company, valued at $26,022,097.16. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other American Express news, insider Howard Grosfield sold 7,029 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $203.65, for a total transaction of $1,431,455.85. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 12,388 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,522,816.20. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Stephen J. Squeri sold 69,356 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $213.02, for a total value of $14,774,215.12. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 122,158 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $26,022,097.16. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 172,047 shares of company stock worth $36,528,388. 0.11% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On American Express

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. CIC Wealth LLC grew its position in American Express by 3.2% during the first quarter. CIC Wealth LLC now owns 1,518 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $346,000 after acquiring an additional 47 shares during the period. Aspiriant LLC grew its position in American Express by 0.8% during the first quarter. Aspiriant LLC now owns 6,330 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $1,441,000 after acquiring an additional 48 shares during the period. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of American Express by 3.4% in the fourth quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,490 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $279,000 after buying an additional 49 shares during the period. Level Four Advisory Services LLC boosted its position in shares of American Express by 2.3% in the fourth quarter. Level Four Advisory Services LLC now owns 2,188 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $410,000 after buying an additional 50 shares during the period. Finally, Game Plan Financial Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of American Express by 62.5% in the first quarter. Game Plan Financial Advisors LLC now owns 130 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 50 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

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.