American Express (NYSE:AXP) Given New $371.00 Price Target at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods

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

A number of other research firms have also issued reports on AXP. Citigroup reiterated a "neutral" rating and issued a $327.00 target price (up from $300.00) on shares of American Express in a research note on Wednesday, July 2nd. Monness Crespi & Hardt raised their target price on shares of American Express from $275.00 to $285.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, April 21st. Wells Fargo & Company set a $327.00 target price on shares of American Express in a research note on Wednesday, July 2nd. Bank of America upgraded shares of American Express from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $325.00 to $274.00 in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of American Express from $244.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, April 21st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have assigned a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, American Express currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $305.74.

American Express Stock Down 1.8%

Shares of AXP traded down $5.75 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $319.49. 2,090,080 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,847,673. American Express has a twelve month low of $220.43 and a twelve month high of $329.14. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $300.79 and a two-hundred day moving average of $290.68. The company has a quick ratio of 1.57, a current ratio of 1.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64. The stock has a market cap of $223.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.31, a P/E/G ratio of 1.58 and a beta of 1.25.

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

American Express Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 8th. Investors 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 of this dividend is Thursday, July 3rd. American Express's dividend payout ratio is currently 22.91%.

Insider Activity

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On American Express

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its position in shares of American Express by 5.5% during the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 680,308 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $183,037,000 after buying an additional 35,295 shares during the period. Pinnacle Financial Partners Inc grew its position in shares of American Express by 1.4% during the 1st quarter. Pinnacle Financial Partners Inc now owns 167,534 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $45,243,000 after buying an additional 2,259 shares during the period. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. grew its position in shares of American Express by 6.4% during the 1st quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 94,458 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $25,088,000 after buying an additional 5,693 shares during the period. Navis Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of American Express by 368.7% during the 1st quarter. Navis Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,548 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $955,000 after buying an additional 2,791 shares during the period. Finally, Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. grew its position in shares of American Express by 8.9% during the 1st quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 95,443 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $25,679,000 after buying an additional 7,822 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.33% of the company's stock.

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.