Barclays Raises American Express (NYSE:AXP) Price Target to $223.00

American Express (NYSE:AXP) had its price objective raised by Barclays from $221.00 to $223.00 in a research note released on Tuesday morning, Benzinga reports. They currently have an equal weight rating on the payment services company’s stock.

Several other equities research analysts also recently issued reports on the stock. Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on shares of American Express from $190.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock an underperform rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 1st. Evercore ISI upped their price target on shares of American Express from $243.00 to $255.00 and gave the company an in-line rating in a report on Wednesday, April 24th. Oppenheimer reaffirmed an outperform rating on shares of American Express in a report on Friday, April 5th. BTIG Research began coverage on shares of American Express in a report on Friday, June 7th. They set a neutral rating on the stock. Finally, HSBC increased their target price on shares of American Express from $232.00 to $239.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of Hold and an average target price of $225.50.

American Express Price Performance

AXP opened at $238.71 on Tuesday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $234.97 and its 200 day simple moving average is $219.65. 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 has a 1 year low of $140.91 and a 1 year high of $244.41. The stock has a market capitalization of $171.70 billion, a PE ratio of 19.66, a P/E/G ratio of 1.36 and a beta of 1.21.

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 net margin of 14.50% and a return on equity of 32.46%. The business had revenue of $15.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $15.79 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.40 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 10.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect 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. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 5th will be given a dividend of $0.70 per share. This is a positive change from American Express’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.10. The ex-dividend date is Friday, July 5th. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.17%. American Express’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 23.06%.

Insider Activity

In other American Express news, Vice Chairman Douglas E. Buckminster sold 117,309 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $232.44, for a total transaction of $27,267,303.96. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 110,318 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $25,642,315.92. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other news, EVP Quinn Jessica Lieberman sold 3,141 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $232.36, for a total value of $729,842.76. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 258 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $59,948.88. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Vice Chairman Douglas E. Buckminster sold 117,309 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $232.44, for a total transaction of $27,267,303.96. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 110,318 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $25,642,315.92. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 177,717 shares of company stock worth $41,680,999. Corporate insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On American Express

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in AXP. Game Plan Financial Advisors LLC grew its holdings in American Express by 62.5% during the first quarter. Game Plan Financial Advisors LLC now owns 130 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. Scarborough Advisors LLC acquired a new position in American Express during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. BKM Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in American Express during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Tennessee Valley Asset Management Partners acquired a new position in American Express during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Finally, Sachetta LLC acquired a new position in American Express during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. 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.