BTIG Research Issues Positive Forecast for American Express (NYSE:AXP) Stock Price

American Express (NYSE:AXP) had its price objective hoisted by BTIG Research from $266.00 to $270.00 in a research report report published on Friday morning. They currently have a sell rating on the payment services company's stock.

A number of other research analysts have also weighed in on the company. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on American Express from $275.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock an "in-line" rating in a report on Monday, October 7th. Monness Crespi & Hardt upped their price target on shares of American Express from $300.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Compass Point boosted their price objective on shares of American Express from $315.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, December 19th. StockNews.com raised shares of American Express from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, January 11th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on American Express from $300.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $281.00.

American Express Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE AXP traded down $5.00 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $320.87. 6,256,039 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,894,205. 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 firm has a market cap of $226.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.23. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $302.35 and a 200-day simple moving average of $274.66. American Express has a 1-year low of $186.43 and a 1-year high of $326.27.

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

American Express Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 10th. Investors of record on Friday, January 3rd will be given a dividend of $0.70 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 3rd. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.87%. American Express's payout ratio is 20.60%.

Insider Buying and Selling at American Express

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On American Express

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Prospera Private Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of American Express in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Kennebec Savings Bank bought a new stake in shares of American Express in the 3rd quarter worth about $29,000. True Wealth Design LLC lifted its holdings in American Express by 332.0% during the 3rd 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 stake in American Express during the fourth quarter worth about $38,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.