American Express (NYSE:AXP) Upgraded to Buy at Bank of America

American Express (NYSE:AXP) was upgraded by equities researchers at Bank of America from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Friday, Marketbeat reports. The firm currently has a $274.00 price target on the payment services company's stock, down from their prior price target of $325.00. Bank of America's target price points to a potential upside of 8.38% from the stock's previous close.

Several other research analysts have also recently issued reports on AXP. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of American Express from $283.00 to $320.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, January 13th. Argus lowered shares of American Express from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, March 14th. BTIG Research increased their price objective on American Express from $266.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a "sell" rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on American Express from $325.00 to $244.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Finally, Truist Financial decreased their price target on American Express from $350.00 to $343.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 4th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have issued a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $296.81.

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American Express Stock Performance

NYSE AXP traded down $5.05 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $252.81. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,066,459 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,881,111. The stock has a market cap of $177.61 billion, a PE ratio of 18.04, a PEG ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.16. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $276.48 and a 200 day simple moving average of $288.09. 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 52 week low of $216.51 and a 52 week high of $326.28.

American Express (NYSE:AXP - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 24th. The payment services company reported $3.04 earnings per share 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%. Equities research analysts predict that American Express will post 15.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at American Express

In related news, insider Ravikumar Radhakrishnan sold 9,485 shares of the company's stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 13,500 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,308,795. This represents a 41.27 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Michael J. Angelakis acquired 3,700 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, March 7th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $269.89 per share, for a total transaction of $998,593.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly 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 currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On American Express

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Investment Management Corp VA ADV bought a new position in American Express in the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp acquired a new position in American Express during the 4th quarter worth about $33,000. Sellwood Investment Partners LLC bought a new stake in American Express during the 4th quarter worth about $33,000. Nexus Investment Management ULC acquired a new stake in American Express in the 1st quarter valued at about $34,000. Finally, Curio Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of American Express during the fourth quarter worth approximately $37,000. 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.