American Express (NYSE:AXP) Price Target Cut to $240.00 by Analysts at BTIG Research

American Express (NYSE:AXP) had its price target cut by BTIG Research from $272.00 to $240.00 in a research report released on Monday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a sell rating on the payment services company’s stock.

A number of other equities research analysts have also weighed in on AXP. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their target price on shares of American Express from $367.00 to $330.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, March 18th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on American Express from $305.00 to $310.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. William Blair reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of American Express in a research report on Monday. HSBC upped their price target on shares of American Express from $270.00 to $294.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Evercore ISI boosted their target price on shares of American Express from $315.00 to $344.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have given a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, American Express currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $290.90.

American Express Stock Down 3.4 %

American Express stock opened at $242.68 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 1.58, a quick ratio of 1.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64. American Express has a 12 month low of $220.43 and a 12 month high of $326.28. The firm has a market cap of $170.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.32, a PEG ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.16. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $271.60 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $287.61.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 17th. The payment services company reported $3.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.47 by $0.17. American Express had a net margin of 15.36% and a return on equity of 32.65%. The firm had revenue of $16.97 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $17.04 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $3.33 EPS. Equities analysts predict that American Express will post 15.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Express Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 4th will be issued a dividend of $0.82 per share. This is a positive change from American Express’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. This represents a $3.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.35%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 4th. American Express’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 22.91%.

Insider Transactions at American Express

In other American Express news, insider Raymond Joabar sold 15,179 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $313.94, for a total transaction of $4,765,295.26. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 23,866 shares in the company, valued at $7,492,492.04. This trade represents a 38.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Ravikumar Radhakrishnan sold 9,485 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $319.17, for a total transaction of $3,027,327.45. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 13,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,308,795. The trade was a 41.27 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On American Express

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of AXP. Investment Management Corp VA ADV purchased a new position in American Express during the fourth quarter worth $29,000. Sellwood Investment Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of American Express during the 4th quarter worth about $33,000. Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp bought a new position in American Express during the 4th quarter valued at about $33,000. Nexus Investment Management ULC purchased a new position in shares of American Express during the first quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Finally, Curio Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of American Express in the fourth quarter worth approximately $37,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.