American Express (NYSE:AXP) Receives Average Rating of “Hold” from Analysts

American Express (NYSE:AXP) has been given an average rating of “Hold” by the twenty-five brokerages that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $253.09.

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on AXP. JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded American Express from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $268.00 to $286.00 in a research note on Monday, October 7th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of American Express from $285.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, September 30th. BTIG Research downgraded shares of American Express from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $230.00 price objective on the stock. in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Hsbc Global Res downgraded shares of American Express from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Finally, Monness Crespi & Hardt raised their price target on American Express from $265.00 to $300.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, October 14th.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Anre D. Williams sold 77,887 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $270.26, for a total value of $21,049,740.62. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 111,656 shares in the company, valued at approximately $30,176,150.56. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, insider Anre D. Williams sold 77,887 shares of American Express stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $270.26, for a total transaction of $21,049,740.62. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 111,656 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $30,176,150.56. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Vice Chairman Douglas E. Buckminster sold 13,111 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $270.98, for a total transaction of $3,552,818.78. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 109,691 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $29,724,067.18. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On American Express

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Edmond DE Rothschild Holding S.A. raised its stake in shares of American Express by 14.2% during the 1st quarter. Edmond DE Rothschild Holding S.A. now owns 2,272 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $517,000 after acquiring an additional 282 shares in the last quarter. Koshinski Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of American Express by 2.7% during the 1st quarter. Koshinski Asset Management Inc. now owns 4,131 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $941,000 after purchasing an additional 107 shares during the last quarter. Texas Yale Capital Corp. boosted its position in shares of American Express by 2.1% in the 1st quarter. Texas Yale Capital Corp. now owns 2,916 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $664,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares in the last quarter. Planning Directions Inc. purchased a new position in American Express during the 1st quarter worth $206,000. Finally, Kingsview Wealth Management LLC increased its position in American Express by 0.6% during the 1st quarter. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC now owns 19,178 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $4,367,000 after buying an additional 107 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

American Express Trading Down 1.5 %

Shares of AXP stock opened at $288.60 on Wednesday. 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 $153.50 and a 12-month high of $296.83. The stock has a market capitalization of $203.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.24, a P/E/G ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 1.21. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $269.33 and its 200 day moving average is $249.86.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last announced its earnings results on Friday, October 18th. The payment services company reported $3.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.27 by $0.22. The company had revenue of $16.64 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.68 billion. American Express had a net margin of 15.32% and a return on equity of 32.46%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 8.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $3.30 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that American Express will post 13.4 earnings per share for the current year.

American Express Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 8th. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 4th were issued a $0.70 dividend. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.97%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, October 4th. American Express’s dividend payout ratio is 20.60%.

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.