American Express (NYSE:AXP) Stock Price Expected to Rise, JPMorgan Chase & Co. Analyst Says

American Express (NYSE:AXP) had its price objective lifted by analysts at JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $286.00 to $301.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Monday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a “neutral” rating on the payment services company’s stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co.‘s price objective indicates a potential downside of 0.38% from the company’s previous close.

A number of other research analysts have also recently issued reports on AXP. Barclays lifted their price target on American Express from $250.00 to $257.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. Monness Crespi & Hardt upped their target price on shares of American Express from $265.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, October 14th. TD Cowen raised their price target on shares of American Express from $260.00 to $268.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. Hsbc Global Res downgraded American Express from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on American Express from $325.00 to $350.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, American Express presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $259.45.

American Express Price Performance

Shares of AXP stock opened at $302.16 on Monday. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $284.00 and its 200 day simple moving average is $258.17. American Express has a one year low of $167.77 and a one year high of $307.82. The firm has a market cap of $212.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.23, a P/E/G ratio of 1.74 and a beta of 1.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80, a current ratio of 1.63 and a quick ratio of 1.63.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last posted its earnings results on Friday, October 18th. The payment services company reported $3.49 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.27 by $0.22. The business had revenue of $16.64 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.68 billion. American Express had a net margin of 15.32% and a return on equity of 32.46%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 8.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $3.30 EPS. On average, analysts expect that American Express will post 13.39 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Vice Chairman Douglas E. Buckminster sold 13,111 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $270.98, for a total transaction of $3,552,818.78. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 109,691 shares in the company, valued at approximately $29,724,067.18. This represents a 10.68 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Anre D. Williams sold 77,887 shares of American Express stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $270.26, for a total transaction of $21,049,740.62. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 111,656 shares in the company, valued at $30,176,150.56. The trade was a 41.09 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 96,998 shares of company stock worth $26,423,439. Company insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of American Express

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. XML Financial LLC raised its stake in shares of American Express by 9.8% during the 3rd quarter. XML Financial LLC now owns 1,127 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $306,000 after purchasing an additional 101 shares in the last quarter. Oliver Lagore Vanvalin Investment Group raised its position in American Express by 2,196.4% during the second quarter. Oliver Lagore Vanvalin Investment Group now owns 8,244 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $1,909,000 after acquiring an additional 7,885 shares in the last quarter. Addison Advisors LLC lifted its stake in American Express by 41.3% in the second quarter. Addison Advisors LLC now owns 701 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $162,000 after acquiring an additional 205 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its position in shares of American Express by 4.5% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 653,012 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $177,097,000 after acquiring an additional 28,371 shares during the period. Finally, Royal London Asset Management Ltd. increased its stake in shares of American Express by 1.7% during the 3rd quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. now owns 239,011 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $64,820,000 after purchasing an additional 3,912 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

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.