Evercore ISI Increases American Express (NYSE:AXP) Price Target to $255.00

American Express (NYSE:AXP) had its price target hoisted by Evercore ISI from $243.00 to $255.00 in a report issued on Wednesday morning, Benzinga reports. They currently have an in-line rating on the payment services company’s stock.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently commented on AXP. TD Cowen boosted their target price on American Express from $221.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock a hold rating in a report on Monday, April 22nd. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on American Express from $167.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an underperform rating in a report on Monday, April 22nd. Stephens raised American Express from an underweight rating to an equal weight rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $148.00 to $193.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 2nd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their target price on American Express from $240.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a report on Monday, April 22nd. Finally, UBS Group upped their price target on American Express from $188.00 to $206.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a report on Monday, January 29th. Four investment 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 data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $209.52.

American Express Stock Performance

AXP opened at $235.64 on Wednesday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $222.57 and its 200-day moving average is $191.74. The stock has a market cap of $169.50 billion, a PE ratio of 19.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.35 and a beta of 1.23. The company has a current ratio of 1.62, a quick ratio of 1.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.70. American Express has a twelve month low of $140.91 and a twelve month high of $240.55.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last announced 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 firm had revenue of $15.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $15.79 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.40 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 10.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts predict that American Express will post 12.99 earnings per share for the current year.

American Express Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 5th will be issued a dividend of $0.10 per share. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.17%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 4th. American Express’s dividend payout ratio is currently 23.06%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Stephen J. Squeri sold 38,873 shares of the business’s 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 in the company, valued at approximately $18,209,855.30. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, CEO Stephen J. Squeri sold 38,873 shares of the business’s 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 in the company, valued at approximately $18,209,855.30. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Howard Grosfield sold 7,029 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the insider now 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 worth $45,804,652 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On American Express

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of AXP. Park Place Capital Corp lifted its stake in shares of American Express by 382.6% in the 3rd 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 last quarter. Meridian Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of American Express by 92.7% in the 3rd quarter. Meridian Wealth Management LLC now owns 7,880 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $1,176,000 after purchasing an additional 3,791 shares during the last quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC lifted its stake in shares of American Express by 6.1% in the 3rd quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 44,386 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $6,622,000 after purchasing an additional 2,553 shares during the last quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp lifted its stake in shares of American Express by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp now owns 225,355 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $33,621,000 after purchasing an additional 1,251 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Strategic Blueprint LLC lifted its stake in shares of American Express by 17.1% in the 3rd quarter. Strategic Blueprint LLC now owns 2,734 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $408,000 after purchasing an additional 400 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.