American Express (NYSE:AXP) Reaches New 52-Week High Following Earnings Beat

American Express (NYSE:AXP)'s stock price hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Monday following a better than expected earnings announcement. The stock traded as high as $232.87 and last traded at $232.87, with a volume of 16780 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $231.04.

The payment services company reported $3.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.97 by $0.36. American Express had a return on equity of 32.39% and a net margin of 14.50%. The business had revenue of $15.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.79 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.40 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 10.6% compared to the same quarter last year.

American Express Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 5th will be paid a dividend of $0.10 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 4th. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.17%. American Express's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 23.06%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AXP has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Oppenheimer restated an "outperform" rating on shares of American Express in a research note on Friday, April 5th. Robert W. Baird lowered American Express from a "neutral" rating to an "underperform" rating and set a $190.00 price objective for the company. in a research note on Monday, January 8th. Barclays restated an "equal weight" rating and set a $221.00 price objective (up previously from $220.00) on shares of American Express in a research note on Tuesday, April 9th. UBS Group increased their target price on American Express from $188.00 to $206.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, January 29th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their target price on American Express from $222.00 to $226.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, American Express currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $208.24.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other American Express news, insider Howard Grosfield sold 7,029 shares of American Express stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $203.65, for a total transaction of $1,431,455.85. Following the sale, the insider now owns 12,388 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,522,816.20. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other American Express news, insider Howard Grosfield sold 7,029 shares of American Express stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $203.65, for a total transaction of $1,431,455.85. Following the sale, the insider now owns 12,388 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,522,816.20. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Laureen Seeger sold 84,420 shares of American Express stock in a transaction on Monday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $212.98, for a total value of $17,979,771.60. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 57,512 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,248,905.76. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 172,047 shares of company stock valued at $36,528,388. Insiders own 0.11% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On American Express

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Scarborough Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of American Express during the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. BKM Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of American Express during the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Tennessee Valley Asset Management Partners acquired a new position in shares of American Express during the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. BluePath Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of American Express during the 3rd quarter valued at $29,000. Finally, Pacifica Partners Inc. acquired a new position in shares of American Express in the 4th quarter worth $29,000. 84.33% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

American Express Stock Up 0.8 %

The company has a current ratio of 1.73, a quick ratio of 1.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69. The firm has a market capitalization of $168.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.18, a PEG ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 1.23. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $220.47 and a 200-day moving average of $189.56.

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.