American Express (NYSE:AXP) Price Target Raised to $235.00 at Jefferies Financial Group

American Express (NYSE:AXP) had its price target increased by Jefferies Financial Group from $225.00 to $235.00 in a research report released on Tuesday morning, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a hold rating on the payment services company’s stock.

Several other research analysts also recently issued reports on AXP. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on American Express from $253.00 to $263.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 1st. HSBC raised their target price on American Express from $232.00 to $239.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on shares of American Express from $190.00 to $205.00 and gave the company an underperform rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 1st. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on shares of American Express from $167.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an underperform rating in a report on Monday, April 22nd. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on shares of American Express from $265.00 to $280.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research report on Monday. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, American Express presently has an average rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $225.50.

American Express Stock Performance

NYSE AXP opened at $238.65 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $234.80 and a 200-day moving average of $219.28. The stock has a market cap of $171.66 billion, a PE ratio of 19.66, a P/E/G ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 1.21. American Express has a 52-week low of $140.91 and a 52-week high of $244.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.70, a quick ratio of 1.62 and a current ratio of 1.62.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last released its earnings results on Friday, April 19th. The payment services company reported $3.33 earnings per share (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 company had revenue of $15.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.79 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.40 EPS. American Express’s quarterly revenue was up 10.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that American Express will post 12.98 EPS for the current year.

American Express Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 9th. Investors of record on Friday, July 5th will be paid a $0.70 dividend. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.17%. This is a positive change from American Express’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.10. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, July 5th. American Express’s payout ratio is currently 23.06%.

Insider Transactions at American Express

In related news, insider Anna Marrs sold 3,592 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, May 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $230.93, for a total value of $829,500.56. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 19,932 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,602,896.76. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, CEO Stephen J. Squeri sold 38,873 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $238.63, for a total value of $9,276,263.99. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 76,310 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,209,855.30. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Anna Marrs sold 3,592 shares of American Express stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $230.93, for a total transaction of $829,500.56. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 19,932 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,602,896.76. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over 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 corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On American Express

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of AXP. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its stake in shares of American Express by 8.5% in the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 8,447,441 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $1,923,399,000 after acquiring an additional 662,382 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new stake in American Express during the fourth quarter valued at about $1,112,747,000. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership lifted its holdings in shares of American Express by 11.4% in the fourth quarter. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership now owns 4,855,211 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $909,575,000 after buying an additional 496,153 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in shares of American Express by 21.1% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,839,276 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $713,202,000 after purchasing an additional 667,695 shares in the last quarter. Finally, TD Asset Management Inc raised its holdings in shares of American Express by 8.2% during the 1st quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 2,595,370 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $590,940,000 after acquiring an additional 195,876 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors 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.