American Express (NYSE:AXP) Receives Consensus Rating of “Hold” from Brokerages

American Express (NYSE:AXP) has received an average recommendation of “Hold” from the twenty-five analysts that are covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $253.09.

A number of research firms have issued reports on AXP. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of American Express from $250.00 to $257.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. Bank of America boosted their price target on shares of American Express from $263.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 17th. Hsbc Global Res lowered shares of American Express from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Monness Crespi & Hardt boosted their target price on American Express from $265.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Finally, TD Cowen upped their target price on American Express from $260.00 to $268.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, October 21st.

Insider Transactions at American Express

In related news, Vice Chairman Douglas E. Buckminster sold 13,111 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $270.98, for a total transaction of $3,552,818.78. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 109,691 shares in the company, valued at $29,724,067.18. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, insider Anre D. Williams sold 77,887 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $270.26, for a total value of $21,049,740.62. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 111,656 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $30,176,150.56. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Vice Chairman Douglas E. Buckminster sold 13,111 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $270.98, for a total value of $3,552,818.78. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 109,691 shares in the company, valued at $29,724,067.18. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On American Express

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its position in shares of American Express by 26,783.5% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 909,737 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $2,467,210,000 after purchasing an additional 906,353 shares during the last quarter. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado raised its holdings in American Express by 924.2% in the second quarter. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado now owns 851,431 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $197,149,000 after buying an additional 768,301 shares during the last quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC lifted its stake in shares of American Express by 59,816.0% in the third quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC now owns 682,443 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $185,079,000 after buying an additional 681,304 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its holdings in shares of American Express by 8.5% during the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 8,447,441 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $1,923,399,000 after buying an additional 662,382 shares during the last quarter. Finally, M&G Plc bought a new stake in shares of American Express during the first quarter valued at approximately $114,990,000. 84.33% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

American Express Stock Performance

Shares of AXP stock opened at $288.60 on Wednesday. American Express has a 12 month low of $153.50 and a 12 month high of $296.83. The firm has a market capitalization of $203.30 billion, a PE ratio of 21.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 1.21. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $269.33 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $249.86. The company has a current ratio of 1.63, a quick ratio of 1.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, October 18th. The payment services company reported $3.49 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.27 by $0.22. The firm had revenue of $16.64 billion during 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 company’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $3.30 EPS. Analysts forecast that American Express will post 13.4 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Express Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 8th. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 4th were issued a $0.70 dividend. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.97%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, October 4th. American Express’s payout ratio is 20.60%.

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.