American Express (NYSE:AXP) Price Target Lowered to $300.00 at Citigroup

American Express (NYSE:AXP) had its price target cut by equities research analysts at Citigroup from $320.00 to $300.00 in a note issued to investors on Monday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a "neutral" rating on the payment services company's stock. Citigroup's target price would indicate a potential upside of 13.53% from the stock's previous close.

A number of other research firms also recently commented on AXP. Baird R W raised American Express from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, March 14th. Compass Point reduced their price objective on American Express from $325.00 to $309.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 27th. William Blair reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of American Express in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Argus downgraded shares of American Express from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, March 14th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of American Express from $283.00 to $320.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have issued a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, American Express has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $302.57.

American Express Stock Down 2.9 %

Shares of AXP traded down $7.77 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $264.25. 940,509 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,781,062. The firm has a market cap of $185.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.86, a P/E/G ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.21. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $295.97 and a 200 day simple moving average of $289.03. 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 has a 12-month low of $214.51 and a 12-month high of $326.27.

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American Express (NYSE:AXP - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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%. Sell-side analysts expect that American Express will post 15.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other American Express news, Director Michael J. Angelakis purchased 3,700 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 7th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $269.89 per share, for a total transaction of $998,593.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 3,700 shares of the company's stock, valued at $998,593. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Ravikumar Radhakrishnan sold 9,485 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $319.17, for a total transaction of $3,027,327.45. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 13,500 shares in the company, valued at $4,308,795. The trade was a 41.27 % 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.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On American Express

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in AXP. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of American Express by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,142 shares of the payment services company's stock valued at $636,000 after purchasing an additional 33 shares during the last quarter. Catalina Capital Group LLC increased its position in American Express by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Catalina Capital Group LLC now owns 3,356 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $996,000 after buying an additional 34 shares during the period. Boston Financial Mangement LLC lifted its holdings in shares of American Express by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Boston Financial Mangement LLC now owns 4,007 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $1,189,000 after buying an additional 34 shares during the last quarter. Auxier Asset Management boosted its position in shares of American Express by 0.5% in the third quarter. Auxier Asset Management now owns 7,133 shares of the payment services company's stock valued at $1,934,000 after acquiring an additional 35 shares during the period. Finally, Abel Hall LLC increased its position in American Express by 3.6% during the third quarter. Abel Hall LLC now owns 1,011 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $274,000 after acquiring an additional 35 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.33% of the company's stock.

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.