Keefe, Bruyette & Woods Issues Positive Forecast for American Express (NYSE:AXP) Stock Price

American Express (NYSE:AXP) had its target price boosted by Keefe, Bruyette & Woods from $360.00 to $371.00 in a report released on Wednesday morning,Benzinga reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods currently has an outperform rating on the payment services company's stock.

Other research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the company. Robert W. Baird upgraded American Express from an "underperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $265.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Friday, March 14th. Barclays raised their target price on shares of American Express from $249.00 to $297.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday. Citigroup reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and set a $327.00 price target (up previously from $300.00) on shares of American Express in a report on Wednesday, July 2nd. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price target on shares of American Express from $367.00 to $330.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, March 18th. Finally, Baird R W upgraded shares of American Express from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, March 14th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have assigned a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $298.05.

American Express Stock Performance

NYSE:AXP traded up $1.15 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $318.13. 2,424,175 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,844,216. American Express has a one year low of $220.43 and a one year high of $329.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64, a quick ratio of 1.57 and a current ratio of 1.58. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $298.81 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $290.38. The firm has a market capitalization of $222.88 billion, a PE ratio of 22.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 1.25.

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

American Express Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 8th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 3rd will be issued a dividend of $0.82 per share. This represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.03%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 3rd. American Express's payout ratio is presently 22.91%.

Insider Transactions at American Express

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Sivia Capital Partners LLC increased its holdings in American Express by 13.0% in the second quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,738 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $554,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC lifted its position in shares of American Express by 1.1% during the 2nd quarter. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC now owns 16,332 shares of the payment services company's stock valued at $5,210,000 after acquiring an additional 175 shares during the period. Gilman Hill Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in American Express by 0.4% during the second quarter. Gilman Hill Asset Management LLC now owns 16,284 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $5,194,000 after acquiring an additional 62 shares in the last quarter. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC grew its holdings in American Express by 10.0% in the second quarter. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC now owns 637 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $203,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares during the period. Finally, Stokes Capital Advisors LLC grew its holdings in American Express by 7.7% in the second quarter. Stokes Capital Advisors LLC now owns 35,303 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $11,261,000 after purchasing an additional 2,539 shares during the period. 84.33% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.