Wells Fargo & Company Boosts American Express (NYSE:AXP) Price Target to $285.00

American Express (NYSE:AXP) had its price objective hoisted by Wells Fargo & Company from $275.00 to $285.00 in a research report report published on Tuesday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an overweight rating on the payment services company’s stock.

A number of other equities analysts have also commented on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on shares of American Express from $253.00 to $263.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a report on Wednesday, May 1st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised 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. Citigroup began coverage on American Express in a report on Monday, June 10th. They issued a neutral rating and a $250.00 price objective for the company. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on American Express from $190.00 to $205.00 and gave the company an underperform rating in a report on Wednesday, May 1st. Finally, HSBC boosted their target price on American Express from $232.00 to $239.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $225.50.

American Express Stock Down 0.1 %

AXP opened at $238.65 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $171.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 1.21. American Express has a one year low of $140.91 and a one year high of $244.41. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $234.80 and a 200-day moving average price of $219.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.70, a current ratio of 1.62 and a quick ratio of 1.62.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last posted its earnings results on Friday, April 19th. The payment services company reported $3.33 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.97 by $0.36. American Express had a return on equity of 32.46% and a net margin of 14.50%. The business had revenue of $15.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $15.79 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.40 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 10.6% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that American Express will post 12.98 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Express Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 9th. Investors of record on Friday, July 5th will be issued a $0.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, July 5th. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.17%. This is a boost from American Express’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.10. American Express’s payout ratio is 23.06%.

Insider Buying and Selling at American Express

In other news, CEO Stephen J. Squeri sold 38,873 shares of American Express stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 76,310 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $18,209,855.30. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, insider Jennifer Skyler sold 14,802 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $241.73, for a total value of $3,578,087.46. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 16,371 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,957,361.83. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Stephen J. Squeri sold 38,873 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $238.63, for a total value 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 approximately $18,209,855.30. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 177,717 shares of company stock valued at $41,680,999. 0.11% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of American Express

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of AXP. Scarborough Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in American Express in the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. BKM Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of American Express in the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Tennessee Valley Asset Management Partners bought a new position in American Express during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Pacifica Partners Inc. purchased a new position in American Express during the fourth quarter valued at $29,000. Finally, Baldwin Brothers LLC MA boosted its holdings in American Express by 134.8% in the fourth quarter. Baldwin Brothers LLC MA now owns 155 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 89 shares in the last quarter. 84.33% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.