Royal Bank of Canada Boosts American Express (NYSE:AXP) Price Target to $263.00

American Express (NYSE:AXP) had its price objective raised by Royal Bank of Canada from $253.00 to $263.00 in a note issued to investors on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an "outperform" rating on the payment services company's stock. Royal Bank of Canada's price objective points to a potential upside of 13.63% from the company's current price.

Other research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the stock. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on shares of American Express from $190.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock an "underperform" rating in a report on Wednesday. TD Cowen lifted their price target on American Express from $221.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, April 22nd. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on American Express from $167.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an "underperform" rating in a report on Monday, April 22nd. Stephens raised American Express from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and upped their price target for the company from $148.00 to $193.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 2nd. Finally, HSBC boosted their price target on shares of American Express from $232.00 to $239.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $210.71.

American Express Trading Down 1.1 %

Shares of NYSE AXP traded down $2.57 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $231.46. The stock had a trading volume of 4,140,431 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,217,571. The business's 50-day moving average price is $223.53 and its 200-day moving average price is $193.22. American Express has a fifty-two week low of $140.91 and a fifty-two week high of $240.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.70, a quick ratio of 1.62 and a current ratio of 1.62. The company has a market cap of $166.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.07, a PEG ratio of 1.36 and a beta of 1.23.

American Express (NYSE:AXP - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 19th. The payment services company reported $3.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.97 by $0.36. The business had revenue of $15.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $15.79 billion. American Express had a net margin of 14.50% and a return on equity of 32.46%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 10.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.40 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that American Express will post 12.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Laureen Seeger sold 84,420 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 57,512 shares in the company, valued at $12,248,905.76. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, CEO Stephen J. Squeri sold 38,873 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $238.63, for a total value of $9,276,263.99. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 76,310 shares of the company's stock, valued at $18,209,855.30. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Laureen Seeger sold 84,420 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $212.98, for a total transaction of $17,979,771.60. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 57,512 shares of the company's stock, valued at $12,248,905.76. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 203,891 shares of company stock valued at $44,373,196. Insiders own 0.11% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On American Express

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Scarborough Advisors LLC bought a new position in American Express during the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. BKM Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in American Express during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Tennessee Valley Asset Management Partners bought a new position in shares of American Express during the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. BluePath Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of American Express in the third quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Finally, Pacifica Partners Inc. bought a new position in American Express in the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. 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.