TD Cowen Boosts American Express (NYSE:AXP) Price Target to $225.00

American Express (NYSE:AXP) had its price objective lifted by TD Cowen from $221.00 to $225.00 in a report released on Monday morning, Benzinga reports. They currently have a hold rating on the payment services company’s stock.

A number of other research firms also recently weighed in on AXP. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their target price on American Express from $240.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research report on Monday. DZ Bank cut American Express from a hold rating to a sell rating in a report on Thursday, January 4th. Barclays reaffirmed 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. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on American Express from $220.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. Finally, Robert W. Baird cut American Express from a neutral rating to an underperform rating and set a $190.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Monday, January 8th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $209.52.

American Express Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE AXP opened at $237.10 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 1.62, a quick ratio of 1.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.70. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $222.11 and a 200-day simple moving average of $190.85. The company has a market cap of $170.55 billion, a PE ratio of 19.53, a P/E/G ratio of 1.36 and a beta of 1.23. American Express has a 12-month low of $140.91 and a 12-month high of $240.55.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last released 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 firm had revenue of $15.80 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.79 billion. American Express had a return on equity of 32.46% and a net margin of 14.50%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.40 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that American Express will post 12.98 EPS for the current year.

American Express Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced 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. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.17%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 4th. American Express’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 23.06%.

Insider Buying and Selling at American Express

In other news, insider Howard Grosfield sold 7,029 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $203.65, for a total value of $1,431,455.85. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 12,388 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,522,816.20. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, insider Monique Herena sold 11,242 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 $2,891,480.34. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Howard Grosfield sold 7,029 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $203.65, for a total transaction 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 210,920 shares of company stock valued at $45,804,652 in the last three months. 0.12% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On American Express

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Northern Trust Corp increased its stake in shares of American Express by 0.6% in the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 6,953,460 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $1,037,387,000 after acquiring an additional 41,443 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in American Express in the fourth quarter worth $1,112,747,000. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership boosted its holdings in American Express by 11.4% in the fourth quarter. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership now owns 4,855,211 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $909,575,000 after purchasing an additional 496,153 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in American Express by 21.1% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,839,276 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $713,202,000 after purchasing an additional 667,695 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Rothschild & Co Wealth Management UK Ltd boosted its holdings in American Express by 1.9% in the third quarter. Rothschild & Co Wealth Management UK Ltd now owns 3,572,743 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $533,018,000 after purchasing an additional 67,575 shares in the last quarter. 84.33% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.