American Express (NYSE:AXP) Price Target Raised to $255.00 at Evercore ISI

American Express (NYSE:AXP) had its price target upped by Evercore ISI from $243.00 to $255.00 in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday morning, Benzinga reports. Evercore ISI currently has an in-line rating on the payment services company's stock.

Several other analysts also recently weighed in on the stock. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of American Express from $188.00 to $206.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a research report on Monday, January 29th. Stephens upgraded American Express from an underweight rating to an equal weight rating and raised their target price for the stock from $148.00 to $193.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 2nd. DZ Bank downgraded American Express from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research note on Thursday, January 4th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on American Express from $222.00 to $226.00 and gave the company an equal weight rating in a research report on Monday. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price target on shares of American Express from $240.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research report on Monday. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, American Express currently has an average rating of Hold and an average price target of $209.52.

American Express Trading Up 0.1 %

NYSE:AXP traded up $0.27 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $239.23. The stock had a trading volume of 4,427,638 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,196,399. The company has a market cap of $172.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.73, a P/E/G ratio of 1.33 and a beta of 1.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.70, a quick ratio of 1.63 and a current ratio of 1.62. The business's 50 day moving average is $221.05 and its 200-day moving average is $190.19. American Express has a one year low of $140.91 and a one year high of $240.55.

American Express (NYSE:AXP - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 19th. The payment services company reported $3.33 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.97 by $0.36. American Express had a net margin of 14.50% and a return on equity of 32.46%. The firm had revenue of $15.80 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.79 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.40 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 10.6% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that American Express will post 12.96 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Express Cuts Dividend

The company 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 of this dividend is Thursday, April 4th. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.17%. American Express's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 23.06%.

Insider Activity at American Express

In other American Express news, insider Monique Herena sold 11,242 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $208.41, for a total value of $2,342,945.22. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 13,874 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,891,480.34. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, insider Howard Grosfield sold 7,029 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $203.65, for a total value of $1,431,455.85. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 12,388 shares in the company, valued at $2,522,816.20. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Monique Herena sold 11,242 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $208.41, for a total transaction of $2,342,945.22. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 13,874 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,891,480.34. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 172,047 shares of company stock valued at $36,528,388. 0.11% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of American Express

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Dakota Wealth Management boosted its stake in shares of American Express by 295.6% in the first quarter. Dakota Wealth Management now owns 18,052 shares of the payment services company's stock valued at $4,110,000 after purchasing an additional 13,489 shares during the period. Simplicity Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of American Express during the first quarter worth $3,239,000. Ackerman Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in American Express during the 1st quarter worth about $215,000. Avitas Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of American Express by 1.3% in the 1st quarter. Avitas Wealth Management LLC now owns 27,587 shares of the payment services company's stock valued at $6,281,000 after buying an additional 361 shares during the period. Finally, Spire Wealth Management grew its position in shares of American Express by 1.0% during the first quarter. Spire Wealth Management now owns 4,315 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $983,000 after buying an additional 42 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.