American Express (NYSE:AXP) Given New $268.00 Price Target at JPMorgan Chase & Co.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) had its target price upped by JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $240.00 to $268.00 in a report released on Monday morning, Marketbeat.com reports. The firm currently has an overweight rating on the payment services company’s stock.

Several other analysts have also recently commented on the company. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on American Express from $167.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an underperform rating in a report on Monday, April 22nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on shares of American Express from $265.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research note on Monday. Evercore ISI upped their target price on shares of American Express from $243.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock an in-line rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 24th. Citigroup started coverage on American Express in a report on Monday, June 10th. They set a neutral rating and a $250.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, TD Cowen lifted their target price on American Express from $221.00 to $225.00 and gave the company a hold rating in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of Hold and an average target price of $225.50.

American Express Stock Down 0.1 %

AXP opened at $238.65 on Monday. American Express has a twelve month low of $140.91 and a twelve month high of $244.41. The firm has a market cap of $171.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.66, a PEG ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 1.21. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $234.80 and its 200-day simple moving average is $219.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.70, a quick ratio of 1.62 and a current ratio of 1.62.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 19th. The payment services company reported $3.33 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.97 by $0.36. The company had revenue of $15.80 billion during 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 32.46%. The company’s revenue was up 10.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.40 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that American Express will post 12.98 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Express Increases Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other American Express news, EVP Quinn Jessica Lieberman sold 3,141 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $232.36, for a total value of $729,842.76. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 258 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $59,948.88. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other American Express news, EVP Quinn Jessica Lieberman sold 3,141 shares of American Express stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $232.36, for a total value of $729,842.76. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 258 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $59,948.88. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Anna Marrs sold 3,592 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $230.93, for a total transaction of $829,500.56. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 19,932 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,602,896.76. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 177,717 shares of company stock valued at $41,680,999. 0.11% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On American Express

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in American Express in the 4th quarter valued at $1,112,747,000. Alphinity Investment Management Pty Ltd bought a new position in shares of American Express in the 1st quarter valued at about $433,709,000. TD Asset Management Inc increased its position in shares of American Express by 62.1% in the fourth quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 2,399,494 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $449,521,000 after acquiring an additional 919,337 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in American Express by 1,313.2% during the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 768,769 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $1,440,210,000 after acquiring an additional 714,370 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in American Express by 21.1% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,839,276 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $713,202,000 after purchasing an additional 667,695 shares during the last quarter. 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.