American Express (NYSE:AXP) Lowered to “Hold” at StockNews.com

StockNews.com lowered shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report issued on Monday morning.

AXP has been the subject of several other reports. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on shares of American Express from $157.00 to $159.00 and gave the company an underperform rating in a research note on Monday, January 29th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of American Express from $220.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft began coverage on shares of American Express in a research report on Wednesday, January 10th. They set a buy rating and a $235.00 price target on the stock. HSBC boosted their price target on shares of American Express from $232.00 to $239.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Finally, Stephens upgraded shares of American Express from an underweight rating to an equal weight rating and boosted their price target for the company from $148.00 to $193.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 2nd. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, American Express has a consensus rating of Hold and an average price target of $201.62.

American Express Stock Down 0.1 %

AXP opened at $217.51 on Monday. American Express has a one year low of $140.91 and a one year high of $231.69. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $219.68 and a 200-day moving average price of $187.79. The firm has a market capitalization of $157.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 1.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.71, a current ratio of 1.63 and a quick ratio of 1.63.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 26th. The payment services company reported $2.62 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.64 by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $15.80 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16 billion. American Express had a net margin of 13.84% and a return on equity of 30.99%. The business’s revenue was up 11.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.07 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that American Express will post 12.83 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Express Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 5th will be given a $0.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 4th. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.18%. American Express’s payout ratio is presently 24.98%.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Howard Grosfield sold 7,029 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $203.65, for a total transaction of $1,431,455.85. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 12,388 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,522,816.20. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, insider Monique Herena sold 11,242 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $208.41, for a total transaction of $2,342,945.22. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 13,874 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,891,480.34. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Howard Grosfield sold 7,029 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $203.65, for a total transaction of $1,431,455.85. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 12,388 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,522,816.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 172,047 shares of company stock worth $36,528,388 in the last three months. Company insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On American Express

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of AXP. CIC Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in American Express by 3.2% during the 1st quarter. CIC Wealth LLC now owns 1,518 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $346,000 after buying an additional 47 shares in the last quarter. Aspiriant LLC raised its holdings in shares of American Express by 0.8% in the 1st quarter. Aspiriant LLC now owns 6,330 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $1,441,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares in the last quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of American Express by 3.4% in the 4th quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,490 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $279,000 after purchasing an additional 49 shares during the period. Level Four Advisory Services LLC lifted its position in shares of American Express by 2.3% in the 4th quarter. Level Four Advisory Services LLC now owns 2,188 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $410,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares during the period. Finally, Game Plan Financial Advisors LLC lifted its position 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 worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares during the period. 84.33% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.