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

American Express (NYSE:AXP) has received an average rating of “Hold” from the twenty-five brokerages that are covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have issued a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $296.81.

Several equities analysts have commented on the stock. Compass Point dropped their price objective on shares of American Express from $325.00 to $309.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Baird R W raised shares of American Express from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, March 14th. Citigroup reduced their price objective on American Express from $320.00 to $300.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 24th. HSBC upped their price objective on American Express from $270.00 to $294.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Bank of America upgraded American Express from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $325.00 to $274.00 in a report on Friday.

American Express Price Performance

NYSE:AXP opened at $251.46 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $176.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.95, a P/E/G ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.16. The business’s 50-day moving average is $279.02 and its 200 day moving average is $288.26. The company has a current ratio of 1.58, a quick ratio of 1.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64. American Express has a 12 month low of $216.12 and a 12 month high of $326.28.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last posted its earnings results on Friday, January 24th. The payment services company reported $3.04 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 research analysts forecast that American Express will post 15.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Express Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Investors of record on Friday, April 4th will be issued a $0.82 dividend. This is a positive change from American Express’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 4th. This represents a $3.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.30%. American Express’s payout ratio is presently 23.41%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, 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 sale, the insider now owns 23,866 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,492,492.04. This represents a 38.88 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Michael J. Angelakis acquired 3,700 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 7th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $269.89 per share, for a total transaction of $998,593.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 3,700 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $998,593. This represents a ∞ increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of American Express

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of American Express during the 4th quarter worth $1,785,867,000. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main lifted its position in shares of American Express by 463.3% during 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 valued at $1,293,259,000 after buying an additional 3,583,959 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in shares of American Express by 27,625.2% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,162,846 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $581,914,000 after buying an additional 2,155,045 shares in the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors grew its position in shares of 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 buying an additional 1,943,463 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC grew its position in shares of American Express by 346.2% in the 4th quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC now owns 2,021,873 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $600,072,000 after buying an additional 1,568,747 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

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.