JPMorgan Chase & Co. Increases American Express (NYSE:AXP) Price Target to $268.00

American Express (NYSE:AXP) had its price objective lifted by JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $240.00 to $268.00 in a research note released on Monday morning, MarketBeat.com reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. currently has an overweight rating on the payment services company’s stock.

Several other brokerages have also recently issued reports on AXP. Citigroup started coverage on American Express in a report on Monday, June 10th. They issued a neutral rating and a $250.00 target price for the company. TD Cowen boosted their price objective on American Express from $221.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock a hold rating in a research report on Monday, April 22nd. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on shares of American Express from $190.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock an underperform rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 1st. Monness Crespi & Hardt raised shares of American Express from a neutral rating to a buy rating and set a $245.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 5th. Finally, William Blair restated an outperform rating on shares of American Express in a report on Monday, June 3rd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, American Express has an average rating of Hold and an average price target of $225.50.

American Express Stock Performance

NYSE:AXP opened at $238.94 on Monday. American Express has a fifty-two week low of $140.91 and a fifty-two week high of $244.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.70, a quick ratio of 1.62 and a current ratio of 1.62. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $234.68 and a 200 day moving average price of $219.14. The stock has a market capitalization of $171.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.68, a PEG ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 1.21.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 19th. The payment services company reported $3.33 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.97 by $0.36. The business had revenue of $15.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.79 billion. American Express had a return on equity of 32.46% and a net margin of 14.50%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 10.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.40 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that American Express will post 12.98 EPS for the current year.

American Express Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 9th. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 5th will be paid a $0.70 dividend. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.17%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, July 5th. This is a boost from American Express’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.10. American Express’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 23.06%.

Insider Transactions at American Express

In related news, CEO Stephen J. Squeri sold 38,873 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $238.63, for a total value of $9,276,263.99. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 76,310 shares in the company, valued at $18,209,855.30. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other American Express news, CEO Stephen J. Squeri sold 38,873 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $238.63, for a total value of $9,276,263.99. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 76,310 shares in the company, valued at $18,209,855.30. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Quinn Jessica Lieberman sold 3,141 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $232.36, for a total transaction of $729,842.76. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 258 shares in the company, valued at $59,948.88. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 177,717 shares of company stock worth $41,680,999 over the last ninety days. 0.11% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On American Express

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of AXP. Creative Planning increased its holdings in American Express by 4.4% during the 3rd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 128,850 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $19,223,000 after acquiring an additional 5,460 shares in the last quarter. OLD National Bancorp IN increased its stake in shares of American Express by 35.4% during the 3rd quarter. OLD National Bancorp IN now owns 5,350 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $798,000 after purchasing an additional 1,400 shares in the last quarter. Comerica Bank raised its position in shares of American Express by 222.5% during the 3rd quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 163,709 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $24,424,000 after purchasing an additional 112,952 shares during the last quarter. Allen Mooney & Barnes Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in American Express in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $10,692,000. Finally, Invst LLC grew its holdings in American Express by 5.9% during the 3rd quarter. Invst LLC now owns 8,975 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $1,339,000 after buying an additional 498 shares during the last quarter. 84.33% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.