American Express (NYSE:AXP) Price Target Raised to $285.00 at Monness Crespi & Hardt

American Express (NYSE:AXP) had its price target raised by Monness Crespi & Hardt from $275.00 to $285.00 in a report published on Monday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. They currently have a buy rating on the payment services company’s stock.

Several other research firms have also weighed in on AXP. UBS Group lifted their price objective on American Express from $283.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, January 13th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price target on American Express from $367.00 to $330.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. Baird R W raised shares of American Express from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, March 14th. BTIG Research upped their price objective on shares of American Express from $266.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Bank of America raised American Express from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and decreased their target price for the company from $325.00 to $274.00 in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have issued a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $290.90.

American Express Stock Down 3.4 %

Shares of NYSE:AXP opened at $242.68 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $170.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.32, a P/E/G ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.16. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $271.60 and a 200 day simple moving average of $287.61. The company has a quick ratio of 1.57, a current ratio of 1.58 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.

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

American Express Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Investors of record on Friday, April 4th will be issued a $0.82 dividend. This is an increase from American Express’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. This represents a $3.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.35%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 4th. American Express’s payout ratio is 22.91%.

Insider Buying and Selling at American Express

In related news, insider Raymond Joabar sold 15,179 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $313.94, for a total value of $4,765,295.26. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 23,866 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,492,492.04. The trade was a 38.88 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Ravikumar Radhakrishnan sold 9,485 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $319.17, for a total transaction of $3,027,327.45. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 13,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,308,795. This represents a 41.27 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of American Express

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of American Express in the fourth quarter worth $832,000. World Investment Advisors LLC boosted its stake in American Express by 430.6% in the 3rd quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC now owns 4,765 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $1,292,000 after purchasing an additional 3,867 shares during the period. Keybank National Association OH grew its holdings in American Express by 3.7% during the 4th quarter. Keybank National Association OH now owns 349,937 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $103,858,000 after buying an additional 12,364 shares in the last quarter. LVM Capital Management Ltd. MI increased its position in shares of American Express by 3.1% during the fourth quarter. LVM Capital Management Ltd. MI now owns 86,344 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $25,626,000 after buying an additional 2,557 shares during the period. Finally, Edge Capital Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of American Express by 20.9% in the fourth quarter. Edge Capital Group LLC now owns 6,451 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $1,915,000 after buying an additional 1,113 shares in the last quarter. 84.33% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other 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.