American Express (NYSE:AXP) PT Raised to $253.00

American Express (NYSE:AXP) had its price target boosted by stock analysts at Royal Bank of Canada from $250.00 to $253.00 in a report issued on Monday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an “outperform” rating on the payment services company’s stock. Royal Bank of Canada’s price target suggests a potential upside of 5.91% from the stock’s previous close.

A number of other brokerages have also issued reports on AXP. HSBC boosted their price target on shares of American Express from $232.00 to $239.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of American Express from $188.00 to $206.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, January 29th. Monness Crespi & Hardt upgraded shares of American Express from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $245.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 5th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of American Express from $222.00 to $226.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday. Finally, Stephens upgraded shares of American Express from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $148.00 to $193.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 2nd. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $208.24.

American Express Stock Up 2.5 %

Shares of AXP opened at $238.88 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $172.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 1.23. American Express has a 12-month low of $140.91 and a 12-month high of $239.42. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $221.05 and its 200 day moving average price is $190.19. The company has a current ratio of 1.73, a quick ratio of 1.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 19th. The payment services company reported $3.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.97 by $0.36. The firm had revenue of $15.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.79 billion. American Express had a net margin of 14.50% and a return on equity of 32.39%. American Express’s revenue was up 10.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.40 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that American Express will post 12.92 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at American Express

In other news, insider Howard Grosfield sold 7,029 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $203.65, for a total value of $1,431,455.85. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 12,388 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,522,816.20. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, insider Howard Grosfield sold 7,029 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $203.65, for a total value of $1,431,455.85. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 12,388 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,522,816.20. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Laureen Seeger sold 84,420 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $212.98, for a total value of $17,979,771.60. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 57,512 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,248,905.76. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 172,047 shares of company stock valued at $36,528,388 over the last three months. 0.11% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On American Express

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Game Plan Financial Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of American Express by 62.5% during the first quarter. Game Plan Financial Advisors LLC now owns 130 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. Scarborough Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of American Express during the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. BKM Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of American Express during the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,000. Tennessee Valley Asset Management Partners purchased a new stake in shares of American Express during the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,000. Finally, Sachetta LLC purchased a new stake in shares of American Express during the fourth quarter worth approximately $29,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.