The Goldman Sachs Group Lowers American Express (NYSE:AXP) Price Target to $330.00

American Express (NYSE:AXP) had its target price decreased by investment analysts at The Goldman Sachs Group from $367.00 to $330.00 in a report released on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a “buy” rating on the payment services company’s stock. The Goldman Sachs Group’s price target would indicate a potential upside of 21.92% from the company’s previous close.

AXP has been the subject of several other research reports. Bank of America cut their price target on American Express from $326.00 to $325.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of American Express from $355.00 to $370.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. William Blair reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of American Express in a research report on Monday, January 27th. HSBC raised their price target on shares of American Express from $270.00 to $294.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Compass Point cut their target price on American Express from $325.00 to $309.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have issued a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $303.52.

American Express Trading Up 3.0 %

American Express stock opened at $270.66 on Tuesday. American Express has a 52 week low of $214.51 and a 52 week high of $326.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64, a quick ratio of 1.57 and a current ratio of 1.58. The firm has a market capitalization of $190.15 billion, a PE ratio of 19.32, a PEG ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.21. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $299.41 and its 200-day simple moving average is $288.35.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 24th. The payment services company reported $3.04 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.00 by $0.04. American Express had a return on equity of 32.65% and a net margin of 15.36%. Equities research analysts forecast that American Express will post 15.33 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Ravikumar Radhakrishnan sold 9,485 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $319.17, for a total value of $3,027,327.45. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 13,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,308,795. This represents a 41.27 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Michael J. Angelakis acquired 3,700 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 7th. The shares were purchased 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 directly owns 3,700 shares in the company, valued at $998,593. The trade was a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On American Express

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Prospera Private Wealth LLC bought a new position in American Express during the third quarter worth about $27,000. True Wealth Design LLC raised its position in shares of American Express by 332.0% in the third quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 108 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 83 shares in the last quarter. Investment Management Corp VA ADV bought a new stake in shares of American Express in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Sellwood Investment Partners LLC bought a new position in American Express during the 4th quarter worth $33,000. Finally, Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp acquired a new position in American Express in the 4th quarter valued at $33,000. 84.33% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.