JPMorgan Chase & Co. Cuts American Express (NYSE:AXP) Price Target to $244.00

American Express (NYSE:AXP) had its price target reduced by JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $325.00 to $244.00 in a research report report published on Tuesday morning,Benzinga reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. currently has a neutral rating on the payment services company’s stock.

Several other analysts have also issued reports on AXP. Bank of America reduced their target price on American Express from $326.00 to $325.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their target price on shares of American Express from $367.00 to $330.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. Robert W. Baird upgraded shares of American Express from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $265.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Friday, March 14th. 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. Finally, Citigroup cut their target price on American Express from $320.00 to $300.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, March 24th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have issued a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $299.24.

American Express Price Performance

NYSE:AXP opened at $230.98 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64, a quick ratio of 1.57 and a current ratio of 1.58. The firm has a market cap of $162.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.49, a P/E/G ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.16. American Express has a 52 week low of $214.51 and a 52 week high of $326.28. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $283.91 and its 200 day simple moving average is $288.71.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 24th. The payment services company reported $3.04 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.00 by $0.04. American Express had a net margin of 15.36% and a return on equity of 32.65%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that American Express will post 15.33 earnings per share for the current year.

American Express Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 4th. This is a boost from American Express’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. This represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.42%. American Express’s dividend payout ratio is presently 23.41%.

Insider Transactions at American Express

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On American Express

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in American Express by 1.6% during the fourth quarter. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,142 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $636,000 after acquiring an additional 33 shares in the last quarter. Catalina Capital Group LLC boosted its position in shares of American Express by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Catalina Capital Group LLC now owns 3,356 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $996,000 after purchasing an additional 34 shares in the last quarter. Boston Financial Mangement LLC grew its stake in shares of American Express by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Boston Financial Mangement LLC now owns 4,007 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $1,189,000 after buying an additional 34 shares during the period. Sunflower Bank N.A. increased its position in American Express by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Sunflower Bank N.A. now owns 4,054 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $1,203,000 after buying an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Foster & Motley Inc. raised its stake in American Express by 2.1% during the 4th quarter. Foster & Motley Inc. now owns 1,716 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $509,000 after buying an additional 35 shares during the period. 84.33% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.