American Express (NYSE:AXP) Downgraded by Wall Street Zen to Hold

Wall Street Zen lowered shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report issued on Sunday morning.

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently weighed in on AXP. BTIG Research boosted their price target on shares of American Express from $277.00 to $307.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday, October 17th. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of American Express in a report on Monday, July 14th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on American Express from $375.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 20th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on American Express from $371.00 to $394.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 1st. Finally, Compass Point restated a “neutral” rating and set a $324.00 target price on shares of American Express in a report on Monday, October 20th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, American Express currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $332.65.

American Express Trading Down 0.2%

AXP stock traded down $0.61 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $367.93. 2,876,645 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,833,904. American Express has a 1-year low of $220.43 and a 1-year high of $371.80. The company has a current ratio of 1.61, a quick ratio of 1.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.78. The stock has a market capitalization of $253.45 billion, a PE ratio of 24.69, a P/E/G ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 1.27. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $339.73 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $314.74.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, October 17th. The payment services company reported $4.14 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.98 by $0.16. The business had revenue of $18.43 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $18.03 billion. American Express had a return on equity of 33.41% and a net margin of 14.97%.The company’s revenue was up 11.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $3.49 EPS. American Express has set its FY 2025 guidance at 15.200-15.500 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that American Express will post 15.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Express Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 10th. Investors of record on Friday, October 10th will be paid a $0.82 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 10th. This represents a $3.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.9%. American Express’s payout ratio is currently 22.01%.

Insider Activity at American Express

In other American Express news, CMO Elizabeth Rutledge sold 50,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $360.21, for a total value of $18,010,500.00. Following the sale, the chief marketing officer directly owned 85,577 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $30,825,691.17. This represents a 36.88% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Denise Pickett sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $350.73, for a total transaction of $1,753,650.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 7,726 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,709,739.98. The trade was a 39.29% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 193,292 shares of company stock worth $65,363,878 over the last ninety days. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On American Express

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of American Express by 153.3% in the 3rd quarter. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. now owns 76 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 46 shares in the last quarter. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in American Express in the third quarter valued at $27,000. Access Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in American Express in the second quarter valued at $26,000. Briaud Financial Planning Inc acquired a new position in American Express in the second quarter valued at $26,000. Finally, Guerra Advisors Inc purchased a new position in shares of American Express during the third quarter worth about $28,000. 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.