American Express (NYSE:AXP) Price Target Raised to $355.00 at JPMorgan Chase & Co.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) had its target price increased by JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $343.00 to $355.00 in a research report released on Tuesday morning,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a neutral rating on the payment services company’s stock.

Other research analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price target on American Express from $371.00 to $375.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 21st. Citigroup reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $327.00 price target (up previously from $300.00) on shares of American Express in a research note on Wednesday, July 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on American Express from $350.00 to $375.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, September 5th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of American Express in a research note on Saturday, September 27th. Finally, William Blair restated an “outperform” rating on shares of American Express in a research note on Wednesday, July 2nd. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fourteen have given a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $323.55.

American Express Stock Down 1.3%

AXP stock opened at $327.61 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80, a quick ratio of 1.60 and a current ratio of 1.61. The company has a market capitalization of $227.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.99, a PEG ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 1.29. American Express has a fifty-two week low of $220.43 and a fifty-two week high of $349.19. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $320.81 and a 200-day moving average of $299.26.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, July 18th. The payment services company reported $4.08 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.86 by $0.22. The company had revenue of $17.86 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $17.70 billion. American Express had a return on equity of 32.87% and a net margin of 14.78%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 9.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $3.49 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that American Express will post 15.33 earnings per share for the current year.

American Express Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 10th will be given a dividend of $0.82 per share. This represents a $3.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 10th. American Express’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 23.02%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Laureen Seeger sold 16,998 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $294.83, for a total value of $5,011,520.34. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 9,001 shares in the company, valued at $2,653,764.83. The trade was a 65.38% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Glenda G. Mcneal sold 50,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $309.50, for a total value of $15,475,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 10,957 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,391,191.50. The trade was a 82.03% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 269,996 shares of company stock worth $85,261,270 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of American Express

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its position in American Express by 24.4% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 6,481 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $1,924,000 after purchasing an additional 1,273 shares during the last quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC lifted its position in American Express by 15.9% in the first quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC now owns 1,073 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $289,000 after purchasing an additional 147 shares during the last quarter. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. lifted its position in American Express by 2.4% in the first quarter. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. now owns 6,019 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $1,619,000 after purchasing an additional 143 shares during the last quarter. Wesbanco Bank Inc. lifted its position in American Express by 1.4% in the first quarter. Wesbanco Bank Inc. now owns 4,953 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $1,333,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Portside Wealth Group LLC lifted its position in American Express by 8.4% in the first quarter. Portside Wealth Group LLC now owns 3,228 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $868,000 after purchasing an additional 251 shares during the last quarter. 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.