American Express (NYSE:AXP) Given New $265.00 Price Target at Wells Fargo & Company

American Express (NYSE:AXP) had its price objective hoisted by Wells Fargo & Company from $250.00 to $265.00 in a research report report published on Wednesday morning, Benzinga reports. They currently have an overweight rating on the payment services company’s stock.

Several other brokerages have also commented on AXP. Robert W. Baird lowered American Express from a neutral rating to an underperform rating and set a $190.00 price objective for the company. in a report on Monday, January 8th. Monness Crespi & Hardt raised American Express from a neutral rating to a buy rating and set a $245.00 price objective for the company in a report on Friday, April 5th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on American Express from $222.00 to $226.00 and gave the stock an equal weight rating in a report on Monday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price objective on American Express from $240.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a report on Monday. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on American Express from $250.00 to $253.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research report on Monday. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $209.52.

American Express Stock Up 0.1 %

AXP stock opened at $239.23 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.63, a current ratio of 1.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.70. The firm has a market capitalization of $172.08 billion, a PE ratio of 19.71, a PEG ratio of 1.33 and a beta of 1.23. American Express has a twelve month low of $140.91 and a twelve month high of $240.55. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $221.62 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $190.53.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 19th. The payment services company reported $3.33 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.79 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.40 earnings per share. American Express’s revenue was up 10.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts predict that American Express will post 12.96 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Express Cuts Dividend

The company 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 $0.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 4th. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.17%. American Express’s payout ratio is 23.06%.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On American Express

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Game Plan Financial Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of American Express by 62.5% in the first quarter. Game Plan Financial Advisors LLC now owns 130 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. Scarborough Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of American Express in the fourth quarter worth $25,000. BKM Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of American Express in the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Tennessee Valley Asset Management Partners purchased a new stake in shares of American Express in the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Finally, Sachetta LLC purchased a new stake in shares of American Express in the fourth quarter worth $29,000. 84.33% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.