American Express (NYSE:AXP) Price Target Raised to $344.00

American Express (NYSE:AXP) had its target price boosted by Evercore ISI from $315.00 to $344.00 in a research report report published on Monday morning,Benzinga reports. Evercore ISI currently has an in-line rating on the payment services company’s stock.

Other research analysts also recently issued reports about the stock. Hsbc Global Res downgraded shares of American Express from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on American Express from $301.00 to $307.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on American Express from $300.00 to $340.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. StockNews.com upgraded American Express from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, January 11th. Finally, Compass Point boosted their price objective on American Express from $315.00 to $325.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $294.95.

American Express Stock Performance

Shares of AXP opened at $315.14 on Monday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $303.60 and a 200 day moving average of $276.27. The company has a current ratio of 1.63, a quick ratio of 1.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80. American Express has a 12 month low of $199.88 and a 12 month high of $326.27. The company has a market capitalization of $222.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.19, a PEG ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.23.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last released its earnings results on Friday, January 24th. The payment services company reported $3.04 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.00 by $0.04. American Express had a return on equity of 32.46% and a net margin of 15.32%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that American Express will post 13.4 earnings per share for the current 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 $0.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 3rd. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.89%. American Express’s dividend payout ratio is currently 20.60%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Caillec Christophe Le sold 6,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $303.48, for a total value of $1,820,880.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 6,433 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,952,286.84. This represents a 48.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On American Express

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its position in American Express by 26,783.5% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 909,737 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $2,467,210,000 after acquiring an additional 906,353 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC boosted its stake in shares of American Express by 8.5% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 11,003,715 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $2,984,208,000 after purchasing an additional 866,110 shares in the last quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC grew its holdings in shares of American Express by 59,816.0% during the 3rd quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC now owns 682,443 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $185,079,000 after purchasing an additional 681,304 shares during the last quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC raised its position in American Express by 35,213.7% in the 3rd quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC now owns 317,117 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $86,002,000 after purchasing an additional 316,219 shares during the period. Finally, National Bank of Canada FI lifted its stake in American Express by 73.7% in the third quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 707,381 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $191,842,000 after purchasing an additional 300,138 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

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.