Royal Bank of Canada Boosts American Express (NYSE:AXP) Price Target to $253.00

American Express (NYSE:AXP) had its price objective hoisted by Royal Bank of Canada from $250.00 to $253.00 in a research report sent to investors on Monday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an outperform rating on the payment services company’s stock.

Several other analysts have also issued reports on the company. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on American Express from $167.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an underperform rating in a research note on Monday. Oppenheimer reiterated an outperform rating on shares of American Express in a research note on Friday, April 5th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft started coverage on American Express in a research note on Wednesday, January 10th. They set a buy rating and a $235.00 target price on the stock. HSBC increased their target price on American Express from $232.00 to $239.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Finally, UBS Group increased their target price on American Express from $188.00 to $206.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a research note on Monday, January 29th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of Hold and an average price target of $209.52.

American Express Stock Performance

AXP opened at $239.23 on Monday. American Express has a 52-week low of $140.91 and a 52-week high of $240.55. The firm has a market capitalization of $172.08 billion, a PE ratio of 19.71, a PEG ratio of 1.33 and a beta of 1.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.70, a quick ratio of 1.63 and a current ratio of 1.62. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $221.62 and its 200 day simple moving average is $190.53.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last released 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 return on equity of 32.46% and a net margin of 14.50%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.40 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that American Express will post 12.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Express Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 5th will be issued a $0.10 dividend. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.17%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 4th. American Express’s dividend payout ratio is presently 23.06%.

Insider Buying and Selling at American Express

In other American Express news, insider Howard Grosfield sold 7,029 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the insider now owns 12,388 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,522,816.20. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, insider Howard Grosfield sold 7,029 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 12,388 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,522,816.20. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Laureen Seeger sold 84,420 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the insider now owns 57,512 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,248,905.76. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 172,047 shares of company stock valued at $36,528,388. 0.11% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Game Plan Financial Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of American Express by 62.5% in the 1st quarter. Game Plan Financial Advisors LLC now owns 130 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. Scarborough Advisors LLC bought a new position in American Express during the 4th quarter worth $25,000. BKM Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in American Express during the 4th quarter worth $28,000. Tennessee Valley Asset Management Partners bought a new position in American Express during the 4th quarter worth $28,000. Finally, Sachetta LLC bought a new position in American Express during the 4th quarter worth $29,000. 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.