American Express (NYSE:AXP) Hits New 12-Month High Following Earnings Beat

American Express (NYSE:AXP)’s stock price reached a new 52-week high on Monday after the company announced better than expected quarterly earnings. The company traded as high as $232.87 and last traded at $232.87, with a volume of 16780 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $231.04.

The payment services company reported $3.33 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.97 by $0.36. The firm had revenue of $15.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $15.79 billion. American Express had a net margin of 14.50% and a return on equity of 32.39%. American Express’s quarterly revenue was up 10.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.40 EPS.

American Express Cuts Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently weighed in on AXP shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price target on shares of American Express from $240.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday. DZ Bank cut shares of American Express from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 4th. Oppenheimer restated an “outperform” rating on shares of American Express in a research note on Friday, April 5th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of American Express from $222.00 to $226.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday. Finally, HSBC raised their target price on shares of American Express from $232.00 to $239.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $208.24.

Insider Transactions at American Express

In other news, insider Howard Grosfield sold 7,029 shares of American Express stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 12,388 shares in the company, valued at $2,522,816.20. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In related news, CEO Stephen J. Squeri sold 69,356 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $213.02, for a total value of $14,774,215.12. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 122,158 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $26,022,097.16. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Howard Grosfield sold 7,029 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $203.65, for a total transaction of $1,431,455.85. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 12,388 shares in the company, valued at $2,522,816.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 172,047 shares of company stock worth $36,528,388 over the last ninety days. 0.11% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On American Express

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Northern Trust Corp boosted its position in shares of American Express by 0.6% in the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 6,953,460 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $1,037,387,000 after acquiring an additional 41,443 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in American Express during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,112,747,000. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership lifted its position in American Express by 11.4% during the fourth quarter. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership now owns 4,855,211 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $909,575,000 after buying an additional 496,153 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in 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 buying an additional 667,695 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Rothschild & Co Wealth Management UK Ltd lifted its position in American Express by 1.9% during the third quarter. Rothschild & Co Wealth Management UK Ltd now owns 3,572,743 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $533,018,000 after buying an additional 67,575 shares in the last quarter. 84.33% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

American Express Trading Up 2.5 %

The stock has a market capitalization of $172.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.68, a PEG ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 1.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69, a current ratio of 1.73 and a quick ratio of 1.63. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $221.05 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $190.19.

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.