Wells Fargo & Company Increases American Express (NYSE:AXP) Price Target to $265.00

American Express (NYSE:AXP) had its price objective upped by investment analysts at Wells Fargo & Company from $250.00 to $265.00 in a note issued to investors on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an “overweight” rating on the payment services company’s stock. Wells Fargo & Company‘s target price suggests a potential upside of 10.99% from the stock’s current price.

Other equities analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price target on American Express from $240.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday. StockNews.com upgraded shares of American Express from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday. TD Cowen upped their price target on shares of American Express from $221.00 to $225.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on shares of American Express from $250.00 to $253.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday. Finally, Monness Crespi & Hardt raised shares of American Express from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $245.00 target price for the company in a research note on Friday, April 5th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $208.95.

American Express Trading Down 0.1 %

Shares of American Express stock traded down $0.19 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $238.77. 1,402,103 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,157,033. American Express has a twelve month low of $140.91 and a twelve month high of $240.17. The company has a quick ratio of 1.63, a current ratio of 1.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.70. The firm has a market capitalization of $171.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.67, a P/E/G ratio of 1.33 and a beta of 1.23. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $221.05 and a 200-day moving average price of $190.19.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last announced its earnings results on Friday, April 19th. The payment services company reported $3.33 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.97 by $0.36. The company had revenue of $15.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.79 billion. American Express had a return on equity of 32.46% and a net margin of 14.50%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 10.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.40 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that American Express will post 12.96 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Stephen J. Squeri sold 69,356 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $213.02, for a total transaction of $14,774,215.12. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 122,158 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $26,022,097.16. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 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 transaction of $17,979,771.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 57,512 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,248,905.76. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Stephen J. Squeri sold 69,356 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $213.02, for a total transaction of $14,774,215.12. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 122,158 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $26,022,097.16. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 172,047 shares of company stock valued at $36,528,388 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.11% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On American Express

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Spire Wealth Management lifted 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 purchasing an additional 42 shares during the last quarter. Pinnacle West Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in American Express in the 1st quarter valued at $228,000. Essex Financial Services Inc. increased its stake in shares of American Express by 6.4% in the 1st quarter. Essex Financial Services Inc. now owns 4,169 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $949,000 after acquiring an additional 249 shares during the last quarter. Bar Harbor Wealth Management increased its position in shares of American Express by 29.2% during the 1st quarter. Bar Harbor Wealth Management now owns 2,709 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $617,000 after purchasing an additional 612 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bell Bank purchased a new position in American Express during the 1st quarter valued at about $758,000. 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.