American Express (NYSE:AXP) Given Neutral Rating at Citigroup

American Express (NYSE:AXP)'s stock had its "neutral" rating reaffirmed by research analysts at Citigroup in a research note issued on Wednesday, MarketBeat.com reports. They presently have a $327.00 price objective on the payment services company's stock, up from their prior price objective of $300.00. Citigroup's price target suggests a potential upside of 0.36% from the company's previous close.

A number of other analysts have also recently commented on the company. Baird R W raised American Express from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, March 14th. Argus cut American Express from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, March 14th. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price target on American Express from $367.00 to $330.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $310.00 price target on shares of American Express in a research note on Monday, April 21st. Finally, Robert W. Baird upgraded shares of American Express from an "underperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $265.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Friday, March 14th. 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 company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $295.25.

American Express Stock Up 1.0%

AXP traded up $3.30 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $325.83. The stock had a trading volume of 3,040,132 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,842,878. The company has a current ratio of 1.58, a quick ratio of 1.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64. The company has a market capitalization of $228.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.75, a P/E/G ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.25. The stock's 50 day moving average is $291.82 and its two-hundred day moving average is $289.23. American Express has a one year low of $220.43 and a one year high of $326.58.

American Express (NYSE:AXP - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 17th. The payment services company reported $3.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.47 by $0.17. American Express had a net margin of 15.31% and a return on equity of 32.48%. The company had revenue of $16.97 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $17.04 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $3.33 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that American Express will post 15.33 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at American Express

In other news, insider Glenda G. Mcneal sold 3,019 shares of American Express 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 transaction, the insider owned 10,919 shares in the company, valued at $2,889,822.54. This trade represents a 21.66% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 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 sale, the insider directly owned 9,402 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,590,251. The trade was 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

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Investment Management Corp VA ADV bought a new stake in American Express during the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of American Express in the first quarter worth $29,000. Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp bought a new stake in shares of American Express during the 4th quarter valued at $33,000. Sellwood Investment Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of American Express during the 4th quarter valued at $33,000. Finally, Nexus Investment Management ULC purchased a new position in shares of American Express during the 1st quarter valued at $34,000. 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.