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

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

Other equities research analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. Robert W. Baird downgraded 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. Monness Crespi & Hardt upgraded American Express from a neutral rating to a buy rating and set a $245.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Friday, April 5th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on American Express from $250.00 to $253.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a report on Monday. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on American Express from $167.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an underperform rating in a report on Monday. Finally, Evercore ISI increased their price objective on American Express from $229.00 to $243.00 and gave the company an in-line rating in a report on Thursday, March 28th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $209.52.

American Express Price Performance

Shares of NYSE AXP opened at $237.10 on Monday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $222.11 and its two-hundred day moving average is $190.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.70, a current ratio of 1.62 and a quick ratio of 1.63. American Express has a 1-year low of $140.91 and a 1-year high of $240.55. The company has a market cap of $170.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.36 and a beta of 1.23.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 19th. The payment services company reported $3.33 earnings per share 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 company had revenue of $15.80 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.79 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.40 EPS. American Express’s revenue was up 10.6% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that American Express will post 12.98 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Express Cuts Dividend

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other American Express news, insider Laureen Seeger sold 84,420 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 57,512 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,248,905.76. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, insider Laureen Seeger sold 84,420 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $212.98, for a total value of $17,979,771.60. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 57,512 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,248,905.76. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Monique Herena sold 11,242 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 13,874 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,891,480.34. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 210,920 shares of company stock valued at $45,804,652. 0.12% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of American Express

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Scarborough Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of American Express in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. BKM Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in American Express in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Tennessee Valley Asset Management Partners purchased a new position in American Express in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. BluePath Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in American Express in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Finally, Pacifica Partners Inc. purchased a new position in American Express in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $29,000. 84.33% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.