Bank of America Boosts American Express (NYSE:AXP) Price Target to $265.00

American Express (NYSE:AXP) had its price target upped by Bank of America from $263.00 to $265.00 in a report issued on Tuesday, Benzinga reports. Bank of America currently has a neutral rating on the payment services company’s stock.

AXP has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of American Express from $275.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a report on Tuesday, July 9th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on shares of American Express from $225.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock a hold rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 9th. Barclays upped their target price on shares of American Express from $221.00 to $223.00 and gave the company an equal weight rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 9th. BTIG Research assumed coverage on American Express in a research report on Friday, June 7th. They issued a neutral rating for the company. Finally, Citigroup started coverage on American Express in a research note on Monday, June 10th. They set a neutral rating and a $250.00 price objective on the stock. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $230.78.

American Express Stock Performance

Shares of AXP stock opened at $268.75 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $193.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.14, a PEG ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.21. American Express has a 1 year low of $140.91 and a 1 year high of $270.10. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $248.49 and its two-hundred day moving average is $236.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74, a quick ratio of 1.66 and a current ratio of 1.66.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, July 19th. The payment services company reported $3.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.26 by $0.23. The company had revenue of $16.33 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.60 billion. American Express had a net margin of 15.53% and a return on equity of 32.94%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.89 EPS. Analysts predict that American Express will post 13.12 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Alphinity Investment Management Pty Ltd acquired a new stake in American Express in the first quarter worth approximately $433,709,000. TD Asset Management Inc grew its holdings in American Express by 62.1% during the fourth quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 2,399,494 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $449,521,000 after acquiring an additional 919,337 shares during the period. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado raised its position in American Express by 924.2% in the second quarter. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado now owns 851,431 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $197,149,000 after acquiring an additional 768,301 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its holdings in American Express by 8.5% in the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 8,447,441 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $1,923,399,000 after acquiring an additional 662,382 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of Nova Scotia boosted its position in shares of American Express by 969.9% during the 4th quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 602,726 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $112,910,000 after purchasing an additional 546,389 shares in the last quarter. 84.33% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.