American Express (NYSE:AXP) Given New $325.00 Price Target at Bank of America

American Express (NYSE:AXP) had its price target reduced by Bank of America from $326.00 to $325.00 in a research note released on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. Bank of America currently has a neutral rating on the payment services company’s stock.

AXP has been the subject of a number of other research reports. HSBC lifted their price objective on American Express from $270.00 to $294.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. BTIG Research lifted their price objective on American Express from $266.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Baird R W upgraded American Express from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, March 14th. Citigroup raised their target price on American Express from $305.00 to $320.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on American Express from $330.00 to $350.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have assigned a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $303.52.

American Express Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE AXP opened at $262.71 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.57, a current ratio of 1.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64. The stock has a market capitalization of $184.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.75, a PEG ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.21. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $300.06 and its 200 day simple moving average is $288.47. American Express has a 52-week low of $214.51 and a 52-week high of $326.28.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last issued its earnings results on Friday, January 24th. The payment services company reported $3.04 EPS for the quarter, topping 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%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that American Express will post 15.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Express Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 4th will be given a $0.82 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 4th. This is a positive change from American Express’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. This represents a $3.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.25%. American Express’s payout ratio is 23.41%.

Insider Buying and Selling at American Express

In other American Express news, insider Ravikumar Radhakrishnan sold 9,485 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $319.17, for a total value of $3,027,327.45. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 13,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,308,795. The trade was a 41.27 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Michael J. Angelakis bought 3,700 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 7th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $269.89 per share, with a total value of $998,593.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 3,700 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $998,593. The trade was a ∞ increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Company insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On American Express

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of American Express during the fourth quarter worth approximately $832,000. World Investment Advisors LLC grew its holdings in American Express by 430.6% during the third quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC now owns 4,765 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $1,292,000 after purchasing an additional 3,867 shares during the period. Keybank National Association OH grew its holdings in American Express by 3.7% during the fourth quarter. Keybank National Association OH now owns 349,937 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $103,858,000 after purchasing an additional 12,364 shares during the period. LVM Capital Management Ltd. MI grew its holdings in American Express by 3.1% during the fourth quarter. LVM Capital Management Ltd. MI now owns 86,344 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $25,626,000 after purchasing an additional 2,557 shares during the period. Finally, Edge Capital Group LLC grew its holdings in American Express by 20.9% during the fourth quarter. Edge Capital Group LLC now owns 6,451 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $1,915,000 after purchasing an additional 1,113 shares during the period. 84.33% of the stock is 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.