Truist Financial Lowers American Express (NYSE:AXP) Price Target to $315.00

American Express (NYSE:AXP) had its target price cut by Truist Financial from $340.00 to $315.00 in a research note released on Tuesday morning, Marketbeat.com reports. They currently have a buy rating on the payment services company's stock.

Several other analysts have also weighed in on AXP. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on shares of American Express from $315.00 to $344.00 and gave the company an "in-line" rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of American Express from $305.00 to $310.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. HSBC raised their target price on American Express from $270.00 to $294.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Compass Point dropped their price target on American Express from $325.00 to $309.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on American Express from $244.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, April 21st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have assigned a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $295.05.

American Express Trading Down 0.9 %

AXP stock traded down $2.53 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $264.79. The stock had a trading volume of 1,939,224 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,845,934. The company has a current ratio of 1.58, a quick ratio of 1.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64. The firm has a market cap of $185.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.16. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $267.65 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $287.21. American Express has a 1-year low of $220.43 and a 1-year high of $326.28.

American Express (NYSE:AXP - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 32.65% and a net margin of 15.36%. The company had revenue of $16.97 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $17.04 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $3.33 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that American Express will post 15.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Express Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Investors of record on Friday, April 4th will be paid a dividend of $0.82 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 4th. This represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.24%. This is a boost from American Express's previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. American Express's payout ratio is currently 22.91%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Raymond Joabar sold 15,179 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $313.94, for a total transaction of $4,765,295.26. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 23,866 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,492,492.04. This represents a 38.88 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Michael J. Angelakis acquired 3,700 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 7th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $269.89 per share, with a total value of $998,593.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 3,700 shares in the company, valued at $998,593. This represents a ∞ increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.20% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of American Express

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in AXP. Investment Management Corp VA ADV purchased a new stake in American Express during the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of American Express during the first quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Sellwood Investment Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of American Express during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp purchased a new position in shares of American Express in the fourth quarter worth $33,000. Finally, Nexus Investment Management ULC bought a new stake in American Express during the 1st quarter valued at $34,000. 84.33% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.