American Express (NYSE:AXP) Rating Lowered to "Hold" at StockNews.com

American Express (NYSE:AXP) was downgraded by equities researchers at StockNews.com from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report released on Monday.

Several other research analysts have also commented on AXP. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on American Express from $270.00 to $300.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on American Express from $300.00 to $340.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on American Express from $305.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday. Monness Crespi & Hardt lifted their price objective on shares of American Express from $330.00 to $355.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday. Finally, TD Cowen upped their target price on shares of American Express from $260.00 to $268.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, American Express has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $288.32.

American Express Trading Down 1.6 %

NYSE AXP traded down $5.11 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $316.23. 3,097,631 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,790,469. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80, a quick ratio of 1.63 and a current ratio of 1.63. The firm has a market capitalization of $222.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.23. The business's 50 day moving average is $302.35 and its 200-day moving average is $275.17. American Express has a 12-month low of $199.07 and a 12-month high of $326.27.

American Express (NYSE:AXP - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 24th. The payment services company reported $3.04 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.00 by $0.04. American Express had a return on equity of 32.46% and a net margin of 15.32%. As a group, analysts anticipate that American Express will post 13.4 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Caillec Christophe Le sold 6,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $303.48, for a total value of $1,820,880.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 6,433 shares in the company, valued at $1,952,286.84. The trade was a 48.26 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Vice Chairman Douglas E. Buckminster sold 13,111 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $270.98, for a total value of $3,552,818.78. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 109,691 shares in the company, valued at approximately $29,724,067.18. This represents a 10.68 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.12% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On American Express

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in AXP. Prospera Private Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in American Express during the 3rd quarter worth $27,000. Kennebec Savings Bank acquired a new stake in shares of American Express during the third quarter worth $29,000. True Wealth Design LLC increased its holdings in 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 purchasing an additional 83 shares during the last quarter. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. acquired a new position in American Express in the third quarter valued at about $38,000. Finally, Financial Life Planners bought a new position in American Express during the fourth quarter worth about $38,000. 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.

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