American Express (NYSE:AXP) PT Raised to $263.00 at Royal Bank of Canada

American Express (NYSE:AXP) had its price target lifted by Royal Bank of Canada from $253.00 to $263.00 in a research report issued on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an “outperform” rating on the payment services company’s stock. Royal Bank of Canada’s price objective would suggest a potential upside of 13.61% from the stock’s current price.

Other equities research analysts also recently issued reports about the company. Robert W. Baird upped their target price on American Express from $190.00 to $205.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a report on Wednesday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price target on American Express from $240.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, April 22nd. StockNews.com upgraded American Express from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 23rd. DZ Bank lowered shares of American Express from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 4th. Finally, Barclays restated an “equal weight” rating and set a $221.00 target price (up from $220.00) on shares of American Express in a report on Tuesday, April 9th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $210.71.

American Express Stock Performance

NYSE AXP traded down $2.54 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $231.49. The company had a trading volume of 1,947,326 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,189,161. The company has a quick ratio of 1.62, a current ratio of 1.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.70. The firm has a market cap of $166.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.36 and a beta of 1.23. American Express has a fifty-two week low of $140.91 and a fifty-two week high of $240.55. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $223.53 and a 200-day simple moving average of $193.22.

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. American Express had a return on equity of 32.46% and a net margin of 14.50%. The firm had revenue of $15.80 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.79 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.40 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that American Express will post 12.99 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at American Express

In other American Express news, insider Laureen Seeger sold 84,420 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 57,512 shares in the company, valued at $12,248,905.76. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, insider Monique Herena sold 11,242 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $208.41, for a total value of $2,342,945.22. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 13,874 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,891,480.34. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Laureen Seeger sold 84,420 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the insider now owns 57,512 shares in the company, valued at $12,248,905.76. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 203,891 shares of company stock valued at $44,373,196 in the last three months. Company insiders own 0.11% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Spire Wealth Management raised its stake in shares of American Express by 1.0% in the first quarter. Spire Wealth Management now owns 4,315 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $983,000 after acquiring an additional 42 shares during the last quarter. CIC Wealth LLC increased its holdings in shares of American Express by 3.2% in the first quarter. CIC Wealth LLC now owns 1,518 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $346,000 after purchasing an additional 47 shares in the last quarter. HTLF Bank lifted its holdings in American Express by 0.8% during the 1st quarter. HTLF Bank now owns 6,202 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $1,412,000 after buying an additional 47 shares in the last quarter. Aspiriant LLC increased its stake in shares of American Express by 0.8% in the 1st quarter. Aspiriant LLC now owns 6,330 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $1,441,000 after buying an additional 48 shares during the period. Finally, Hexagon Capital Partners LLC boosted its holdings in American Express by 3.4% in the fourth quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,490 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $279,000 after acquiring an additional 49 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other 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.