American Express (NYSE:AXP) Given New $300.00 Price Target at Wells Fargo & Company

American Express (NYSE:AXP) had its price objective increased by Wells Fargo & Company from $285.00 to $300.00 in a report published on Monday morning, Benzinga reports. They currently have an overweight rating on the payment services company’s stock.

A number of other brokerages have also recently issued reports on AXP. Compass Point initiated coverage on shares of American Express in a research note on Tuesday, July 16th. They issued a neutral rating and a $260.00 price target on the stock. William Blair restated an outperform rating on shares of American Express in a research note on Monday, June 3rd. Citigroup initiated coverage on American Express in a report on Monday, June 10th. They set a neutral rating and a $250.00 price target for the company. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on shares of American Express from $225.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock a hold rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 9th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on shares of American Express from $265.00 to $267.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a report on Monday, July 22nd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of Hold and an average price target of $231.43.

American Express Trading Down 0.8 %

AXP opened at $268.73 on Monday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $253.31 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $239.97. American Express has a one year low of $140.91 and a one year high of $272.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74, a current ratio of 1.66 and a quick ratio of 1.66. The firm has a market capitalization of $193.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.14, a PEG ratio of 1.48 and a beta of 1.21.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, July 19th. The payment services company reported $3.49 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.26 by $0.23. American Express had a return on equity of 32.94% and a net margin of 15.53%. The company had revenue of $16.33 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.60 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.89 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 9.2% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that American Express will post 13.13 EPS for the current year.

American Express Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 8th. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 4th will be given a dividend of $0.70 per share. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.04%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 4th. American Express’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 23.06%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Cetera Advisors LLC raised its holdings in American Express by 119.6% in the first quarter. Cetera Advisors LLC now owns 39,497 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $8,993,000 after purchasing an additional 21,508 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its holdings in American Express by 102.9% in the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 12,480 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $2,842,000 after purchasing an additional 6,329 shares during the last quarter. Sciencast Management LP acquired a new stake in American Express during the 1st quarter worth about $1,881,000. Oliver Lagore Vanvalin Investment Group raised its stake in shares of American Express by 2,196.4% during the 2nd quarter. Oliver Lagore Vanvalin Investment Group now owns 8,244 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $1,909,000 after buying an additional 7,885 shares during the last quarter. Finally, New Mexico Educational Retirement Board lifted its holdings in shares of American Express by 15.5% in the 1st quarter. New Mexico Educational Retirement Board now owns 35,763 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $8,143,000 after buying an additional 4,800 shares during the period. 84.33% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other 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.