American Express (NYSE:AXP) Given Average Rating of “Hold” by Brokerages

American Express (NYSE:AXP) has received an average recommendation of “Hold” from the twenty-four brokerages that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, twelve have assigned a hold recommendation and nine have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average twelve-month price target among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $296.38.

Several brokerages recently weighed in on AXP. Compass Point decreased their target price on American Express from $325.00 to $309.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on shares of American Express from $330.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Citigroup increased their price target on shares of American Express from $305.00 to $320.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. William Blair restated an “outperform” rating on shares of American Express in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of American Express from $283.00 to $320.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, January 13th.

American Express Trading Down 0.7 %

NYSE:AXP opened at $294.09 on Friday. The company’s 50 day moving average is $307.39 and its 200-day moving average is $285.99. The company has a quick ratio of 1.57, a current ratio of 1.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64. American Express has a 12 month low of $214.51 and a 12 month high of $326.27. The firm has a market cap of $206.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.99, a P/E/G ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.24.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last announced its earnings results on Friday, January 24th. The payment services company reported $3.04 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.00 by $0.04. American Express had a net margin of 15.36% and a return on equity of 32.65%. Equities analysts anticipate that American Express will post 15.33 EPS for the current year.

American Express Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 10th. Investors of record on Friday, January 3rd were issued a dividend of $0.70 per share. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.95%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 3rd. American Express’s dividend payout ratio is currently 19.99%.

Insider Buying and Selling at American Express

In related news, insider Raymond Joabar sold 15,179 shares of American Express stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $313.94, for a total value of $4,765,295.26. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 23,866 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,492,492.04. The trade was a 38.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Ravikumar Radhakrishnan sold 9,485 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $319.17, for a total transaction of $3,027,327.45. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 13,500 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,308,795. This represents a 41.27 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.11% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On American Express

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Prospera Private Wealth LLC bought a new position in American Express in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Kennebec Savings Bank bought a new position in 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 3rd quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 108 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 83 shares during the period. Investment Management Corp VA ADV bought a new stake in shares of American Express during the fourth quarter worth $29,000. Finally, Sellwood Investment Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of American Express during the fourth quarter valued at $33,000. 84.33% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.