Analysts Set American Express (NYSE:AXP) Price Target at $299.24

American Express (NYSE:AXP) has been assigned a consensus rating of “Hold” from the twenty-six analysts that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have issued a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. The average 1-year price objective among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $302.57.

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Argus lowered shares of American Express from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, March 14th. Baird R W upgraded 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 American Express from $266.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. StockNews.com downgraded American Express from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, UBS Group upped their price target on American Express from $283.00 to $320.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, January 13th.

American Express Stock Up 2.8 %

American Express stock opened at $277.98 on Tuesday. American Express has a fifty-two week low of $214.51 and a fifty-two week high of $326.28. 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’s 50-day simple moving average is $297.92 and its 200 day simple moving average is $288.99. The stock has a market cap of $195.29 billion, a PE ratio of 19.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.21.

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

American Express Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 4th will be given a dividend of $0.82 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 4th. This is a positive change from American Express’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. This represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.18%. American Express’s payout ratio is presently 23.41%.

Insider Transactions at American Express

In other news, Director Michael J. Angelakis acquired 3,700 shares of American Express stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 7th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $269.89 per share, for a total transaction of $998,593.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 3,700 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $998,593. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Raymond Joabar sold 15,179 shares of the business’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 completion of the sale, the insider now owns 23,866 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,492,492.04. The trade was a 38.88 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Prospera Private Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of American Express during the 3rd quarter valued at $27,000. True Wealth Design LLC boosted its position in American Express by 332.0% during the third quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 108 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 83 shares during the period. Investment Management Corp VA ADV bought a new position in shares of American Express during the fourth quarter valued at about $29,000. Sellwood Investment Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of American Express in the fourth quarter worth about $33,000. Finally, Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp bought a new stake in shares of American Express in the 4th quarter valued at about $33,000. 84.33% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.