JPMorgan Chase & Co. Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for American Express (NYSE:AXP) Stock

American Express (NYSE:AXP) had its price objective lifted by JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $244.00 to $260.00 in a report released on Monday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have a neutral rating on the payment services company's stock.

A number of other research firms have also commented on AXP. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of American Express from $283.00 to $320.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on American Express from $355.00 to $370.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. William Blair restated an "outperform" rating on shares of American Express in a report on Monday, April 21st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on American Express from $350.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Compass Point cut their price target on shares of American Express from $325.00 to $309.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 27th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have assigned a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, American Express has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $295.05.

American Express Stock Performance

American Express stock traded down $2.53 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $264.79. 1,939,224 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,845,934. The company has a quick ratio of 1.57, a current ratio of 1.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64. American Express has a one year low of $220.43 and a one year high of $326.28. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $267.65 and a 200 day moving average price of $287.11. The company has a market cap of $185.51 billion, a PE ratio of 18.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.16.

American Express (NYSE:AXP - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 17th. The payment services company reported $3.64 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.47 by $0.17. The business had revenue of $16.97 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $17.04 billion. American Express had a net margin of 15.36% and a return on equity of 32.65%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $3.33 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that American Express will post 15.33 EPS for the current year.

American Express Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 4th will be given a $0.82 dividend. This represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.24%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 4th. This is a boost from American Express's previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. American Express's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 22.91%.

Insider Activity at American Express

In other American Express news, Director Michael J. Angelakis bought 3,700 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 7th. The shares were bought at an average price of $269.89 per share, for a total transaction of $998,593.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 3,700 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $998,593. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Ravikumar Radhakrishnan sold 9,485 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $319.17, for a total transaction of $3,027,327.45. Following the sale, the insider now owns 13,500 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,308,795. This represents a 41.27 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of American Express

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Investment Management Corp VA ADV acquired a new stake in shares of American Express during the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in American Express during the first quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Sellwood Investment Partners LLC acquired a new stake in American Express in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp bought a new stake in American Express in the fourth quarter worth approximately $33,000. Finally, Curio Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of American Express during the 4th quarter worth $37,000. 84.33% of the stock is currently 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.