Brokerages Set American Express (NYSE:AXP) Price Target at $267.05

American Express (NYSE:AXP) has received a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the twenty-three research firms that are covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, twelve have issued a hold recommendation and eight have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year target price among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $268.95.

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on AXP shares. HSBC cut shares of American Express from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $265.00 to $270.00 in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Monness Crespi & Hardt upped their price target on shares of American Express from $300.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Compass Point raised their price target on shares of American Express from $315.00 to $325.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on American Express from $275.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research note on Monday, October 7th. Finally, TD Cowen raised their target price on American Express from $260.00 to $268.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st.

Insider Activity

In related news, Vice Chairman Douglas E. Buckminster sold 13,111 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $270.98, for a total value of $3,552,818.78. Following the sale, the insider now owns 109,691 shares in the company, valued at approximately $29,724,067.18. The trade was a 10.68 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Anre D. Williams sold 77,887 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 22nd. The shares were 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 trade represents a 41.09 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 96,998 shares of company stock valued at $26,423,439 in the last quarter. Insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of American Express

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Auxier Asset Management increased its stake in American Express by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. Auxier Asset Management now owns 7,133 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $1,934,000 after buying an additional 35 shares during the period. Abel Hall LLC grew its stake in shares of American Express by 3.6% in the third quarter. Abel Hall LLC now owns 1,011 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $274,000 after acquiring an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. Sovereign Financial Group Inc. increased its position in shares of American Express by 2.7% during the third quarter. Sovereign Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,467 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $398,000 after acquiring an additional 38 shares during the period. Legacy Financial Strategies LLC raised its stake in shares of American Express by 2.5% in the third quarter. Legacy Financial Strategies LLC now owns 1,632 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $443,000 after acquiring an additional 40 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Concord Wealth Partners boosted its holdings in American Express by 10.5% in the third quarter. Concord Wealth Partners now owns 422 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $114,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

American Express Price Performance

Shares of American Express stock opened at $301.78 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $212.59 billion, a PE ratio of 22.21, a P/E/G ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 1.23. American Express has a twelve month low of $177.81 and a twelve month high of $307.82. The company has a quick ratio of 1.63, a current ratio of 1.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $294.60 and a 200 day moving average price of $267.67.

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, beating the consensus estimate of $3.27 by $0.22. The company had revenue of $16.64 billion for 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%. American Express’s quarterly revenue was up 8.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $3.30 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that American Express will post 13.4 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Express Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 3rd will be paid a dividend of $0.70 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 3rd. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.93%. American Express’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 20.60%.

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.