American Express (NYSE:AXP) Sets New 1-Year High – Should You Buy?

American Express (NYSE:AXP) reached a new 52-week high during trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $317.09 and last traded at $317.36, with a volume of 213895 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $312.56.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on AXP shares. TD Cowen increased their target price on shares of American Express from $260.00 to $268.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of American Express from $283.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on American Express from $252.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on American Express from $270.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, October 7th. Finally, Compass Point boosted their price objective on American Express from $315.00 to $325.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, American Express has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $278.09.

American Express Stock Performance

The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $300.94 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $273.70. The company has a market cap of $227.17 billion, a PE ratio of 23.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 1.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80, a current ratio of 1.63 and a quick ratio of 1.63.

American Express Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 10th. Investors of record on Friday, January 3rd will be given a dividend of $0.70 per share. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.87%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 3rd. American Express’s payout ratio is currently 20.60%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Vice Chairman Douglas E. Buckminster sold 13,111 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $270.98, for a total transaction of $3,552,818.78. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 109,691 shares in the company, valued at approximately $29,724,067.18. This represents a 10.68 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Caillec Christophe Le sold 6,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $303.48, for a total value of $1,820,880.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 6,433 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,952,286.84. This trade represents a 48.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.12% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On American Express

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Prospera Private Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of American Express during the third quarter worth about $27,000. Kennebec Savings Bank purchased a new stake in shares of American Express in the 3rd quarter valued at $29,000. True Wealth Design LLC increased its stake in shares of American Express by 332.0% in the third quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 108 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 83 shares during the period. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. purchased a new position in shares of American Express during the third quarter worth $38,000. Finally, Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in American Express in the third quarter valued at $46,000. 84.33% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.