American Express (NYSE:AXP) Given Consensus Rating of "Hold" by Brokerages

American Express (NYSE:AXP) has received a consensus recommendation of "Hold" from the twenty-five brokerages that are covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $253.09.

A number of research firms recently issued reports on AXP. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on American Express from $275.00 to $290.00 and gave the company an "in-line" rating in a report on Monday, October 7th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on American Express from $248.00 to $252.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Monness Crespi & Hardt boosted their price objective on American Express from $265.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Bank of America raised their target price on shares of American Express from $263.00 to $265.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, September 17th. Finally, HSBC cut shares of American Express from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $265.00 to $270.00 in a report on Tuesday, October 8th.

Insider Transactions at American Express

In other American Express news, insider Anre D. Williams sold 77,887 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 22nd. The stock was 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 directly owns 111,656 shares of the company's stock, valued at $30,176,150.56. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, Vice Chairman Douglas E. Buckminster sold 13,111 shares of American Express stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $270.98, for a total value of $3,552,818.78. Following the sale, the insider now owns 109,691 shares of the company's stock, valued at $29,724,067.18. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Anre D. Williams sold 77,887 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $270.26, for a total transaction of $21,049,740.62. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 111,656 shares in the company, valued at approximately $30,176,150.56. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.12% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On American Express

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in AXP. Prospera Private Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of American Express in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Kennebec Savings Bank acquired a new stake in American Express in the third quarter valued at $29,000. DHJJ Financial Advisors Ltd. boosted its position in shares of American Express by 42.2% during the 2nd quarter. DHJJ Financial Advisors Ltd. now owns 165 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 49 shares in the last quarter. POM Investment Strategies LLC acquired a new position in shares of American Express during the 2nd quarter worth $42,000. Finally, Founders Capital Management purchased a new position in shares of American Express in the 2nd quarter valued at about $46,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.33% of the company's stock.

American Express Trading Up 0.0 %

NYSE:AXP traded up $0.14 on Wednesday, reaching $288.65. 1,247,665 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,904,008. The firm has a market capitalization of $203.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 1.21. American Express has a 52-week low of $156.03 and a 52-week high of $296.83. The company has a quick ratio of 1.63, a current ratio of 1.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80. The business has a fifty day moving average of $270.01 and a 200-day moving average of $250.23.

American Express (NYSE:AXP - Get Free Report) last announced 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. American Express had a net margin of 15.32% and a return on equity of 32.46%. The firm had revenue of $16.64 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.68 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $3.30 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 8.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts expect that American Express will post 13.4 earnings per share for the current year.

American Express Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 8th. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 4th were issued a $0.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, October 4th. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.97%. American Express's payout ratio is 20.60%.

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.