American Express (NYSE:AXP) Reaches New 12-Month High Following Analyst Upgrade

American Express Company (NYSE:AXP)'s stock price hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Wednesday after Truist Financial raised their price target on the stock from $315.00 to $335.00. Truist Financial currently has a buy rating on the stock. American Express traded as high as $326.60 and last traded at $326.30, with a volume of 1887174 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $322.53.

Other analysts have also issued research reports about the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price target on shares of American Express from $367.00 to $330.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, March 18th. Royal Bank Of Canada restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $310.00 price target on shares of American Express in a research note on Monday, April 21st. Argus lowered shares of American Express from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, March 14th. Robert W. Baird raised shares of American Express from an "underperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $265.00 price objective for the company in a report on Friday, March 14th. Finally, Citigroup decreased their price objective on shares of American Express from $320.00 to $300.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 24th. One equities 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 company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $295.25.

Insider Buying and Selling at American Express

In other news, insider Glenda G. Mcneal sold 3,019 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $264.66, for a total transaction of $799,008.54. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 10,919 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,889,822.54. The trade was a 21.66% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Howard Grosfield sold 9,450 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $275.50, for a total transaction of $2,603,475.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 9,402 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,590,251. This trade represents a 50.13% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.20% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On American Express

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of AXP. Trillium Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in American Express by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. Trillium Asset Management LLC now owns 2,449 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $727,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares during the period. Zions Bancorporation N.A. lifted its holdings in American Express by 2.4% in the fourth quarter. Zions Bancorporation N.A. now owns 1,510 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $448,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares during the period. Financial Engines Advisors L.L.C. lifted its holdings in American Express by 4.7% in the first quarter. Financial Engines Advisors L.L.C. now owns 772 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $208,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares during the period. Modern Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in American Express by 0.7% in the first quarter. Modern Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,921 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $1,324,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares during the period. Finally, Tyler Stone Wealth Management lifted its holdings in American Express by 4.8% in the first quarter. Tyler Stone Wealth Management now owns 792 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $213,000 after purchasing an additional 36 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.33% of the company's stock.

American Express Stock Up 0.8%

The firm has a market cap of $230.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.93, a P/E/G ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 1.25. The firm's fifty day moving average is $295.62 and its two-hundred day moving average is $289.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64, a current ratio of 1.58 and a quick ratio of 1.57.

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 15.31% and a return on equity of 32.48%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $3.33 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that American Express Company will post 15.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Express Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 8th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 3rd will be given a $0.82 dividend. This represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.00%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 3rd. American Express's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 22.91%.

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.