JPMorgan Chase & Co. Increases American Express (NYSE:AXP) Price Target to $260.00

American Express (NYSE:AXP) had its price target hoisted by JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $244.00 to $260.00 in a report released on Monday,Benzinga reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. currently has a neutral rating on the payment services company's stock.

Several other research analysts also recently commented on AXP. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on American Express from $350.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on American Express from $315.00 to $344.00 and gave the company an "in-line" rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. StockNews.com cut American Express from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Monness Crespi & Hardt boosted their price target on American Express from $275.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday. Finally, Citigroup dropped their price target on American Express from $320.00 to $300.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 24th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have issued a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $295.05.

American Express Price Performance

NYSE:AXP traded up $2.79 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $262.93. 342,489 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,208,637. The firm has a market cap of $184.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.77, a P/E/G ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.16. American Express has a 52 week low of $220.43 and a 52 week high of $326.27. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $269.48 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $287.18. The company has a quick ratio of 1.57, a current ratio of 1.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64.

American Express (NYSE:AXP - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 17th. The payment services company reported $3.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.47 by $0.17. American Express had a return on equity of 32.65% and a net margin of 15.36%. The company had revenue of $16.97 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $17.04 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $3.33 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that American Express will post 15.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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 issued a dividend of $0.82 per share. This is a positive change from American Express's previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. This represents a $3.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.25%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 4th. American Express's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 22.91%.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Raymond Joabar sold 15,179 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $313.94, for a total transaction of $4,765,295.26. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 23,866 shares in the company, 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 SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Michael J. Angelakis bought 3,700 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, March 7th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $269.89 per share, with a total value of $998,593.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 3,700 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $998,593. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Company insiders own 0.20% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On American Express

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of American Express by 2.3% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 11,752,084 shares of the payment services company's stock valued at $3,484,312,000 after purchasing an additional 268,572 shares in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its stake in American Express by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 8,761,336 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $2,600,277,000 after buying an additional 95,927 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp lifted its holdings in American Express by 16.3% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 6,825,135 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $2,025,632,000 after buying an additional 955,811 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of American Express in the 4th quarter valued at $1,785,867,000. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its stake in shares of American Express by 8.9% during the 4th quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 5,015,269 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $1,488,482,000 after purchasing an additional 408,283 shares during the last quarter. 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.