Morgan Stanley Increases American Express (NYSE:AXP) Price Target to $226.00

American Express (NYSE:AXP) had its target price upped by Morgan Stanley from $222.00 to $226.00 in a research report sent to investors on Monday morning, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an equal weight rating on the payment services company’s stock.

Several other research analysts also recently commented on AXP. DZ Bank downgraded American Express from a hold rating to a sell rating in a report on Thursday, January 4th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft started coverage on American Express in a report on Wednesday, January 10th. They issued a buy rating and a $235.00 price objective for the company. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on shares of American Express from $157.00 to $159.00 and gave the stock an underperform rating in a report on Monday, January 29th. Barclays restated an equal weight rating and issued a $221.00 price target (up previously from $220.00) on shares of American Express in a report on Tuesday, April 9th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on American Express from $220.00 to $226.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research report on Monday, January 29th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $209.52.

American Express Price Performance

AXP opened at $237.10 on Monday. 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 business has a fifty day moving average of $222.11 and a 200 day moving average of $190.85. American Express has a 52-week low of $140.91 and a 52-week high of $240.55. The stock has a market cap of $170.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.53, a PEG ratio of 1.36 and a beta of 1.23.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 19th. The payment services company reported $3.33 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.97 by $0.36. The firm 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 revenue for the quarter was up 10.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.40 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that American Express will post 12.98 EPS for the current year.

American Express Cuts Dividend

The business 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 dividend yield of 0.17%. American Express’s payout ratio is currently 23.06%.

Insider Buying and Selling at American Express

In other news, insider Howard Grosfield sold 7,029 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 30th. The shares were 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 filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other American Express 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 transaction of $9,276,263.99. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 76,310 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $18,209,855.30. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Howard Grosfield sold 7,029 shares of the business’s 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 sale, the insider now owns 12,388 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,522,816.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 210,920 shares of company stock valued at $45,804,652. 0.12% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of American Express

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Park Place Capital Corp grew its holdings in shares of American Express by 382.6% in the third quarter. Park Place Capital Corp now owns 333 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $50,000 after purchasing an additional 264 shares during the period. Lawson Kroeker Investment Management Inc. NE lifted its holdings in American Express by 3.2% in the third quarter. Lawson Kroeker Investment Management Inc. NE now owns 5,274 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $787,000 after acquiring an additional 165 shares during the last quarter. Perennial Advisors LLC grew its position in American Express by 1.1% in the third quarter. Perennial Advisors LLC now owns 51,270 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $7,649,000 after acquiring an additional 562 shares during the period. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. increased its stake in American Express by 7.0% during the third quarter. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 1,140 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $170,000 after acquiring an additional 75 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GHP Investment Advisors Inc. raised its position in American Express by 1.2% in the third quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 58,738 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $8,875,000 after purchasing an additional 689 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

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.