Citigroup Issues Pessimistic Forecast for American Express (NYSE:AXP) Stock Price

American Express (NYSE:AXP) had its price objective cut by Citigroup from $320.00 to $300.00 in a report issued on Monday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a neutral rating on the payment services company’s stock.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently weighed in on AXP. William Blair reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of American Express in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of American Express from $305.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Compass Point reduced their price target on American Express from $325.00 to $309.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 27th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on American Express from $330.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, BTIG Research boosted their target price on American Express from $266.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have given a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, American Express has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $302.57.

American Express Stock Up 2.8 %

AXP opened at $277.98 on Monday. American Express has a 12 month low of $214.51 and a 12 month high of $326.28. The company has a current ratio of 1.58, a quick ratio of 1.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $297.92 and its 200-day moving average price is $288.99. The company has a market cap of $195.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.84, a P/E/G ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.21.

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

American Express Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 4th will be paid a dividend of $0.82 per share. This is a boost from American Express’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 4th. This represents a $3.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.18%. American Express’s payout ratio is presently 23.41%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Michael J. Angelakis purchased 3,700 shares of American Express stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 7th. The stock was bought at an average price of $269.89 per share, with a total value of $998,593.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 3,700 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $998,593. The trade was a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Raymond Joabar sold 15,179 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 28th. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at $7,492,492.04. This trade represents a 38.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On American Express

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of American Express during the 4th quarter valued at about $1,785,867,000. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main boosted its holdings in American Express by 463.3% in the fourth quarter. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main now owns 4,357,487 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $1,293,259,000 after purchasing an additional 3,583,959 shares during the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors grew its position in American Express by 186.3% in the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 2,986,710 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $886,426,000 after purchasing an additional 1,943,463 shares during the period. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC raised its stake in American Express by 346.2% during the 4th quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC now owns 2,021,873 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $600,072,000 after buying an additional 1,568,747 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Proficio Capital Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of American Express by 36,719.1% during the 4th quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,011,790 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $300,289,000 after buying an additional 1,009,042 shares during the period. 84.33% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.