Wells Fargo & Company Increases American Express (NYSE:AXP) Price Target to $285.00

American Express (NYSE:AXP) had its price target raised by investment analysts at Wells Fargo & Company from $275.00 to $285.00 in a note issued to investors on Tuesday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an “overweight” rating on the payment services company’s stock. Wells Fargo & Company‘s target price would suggest a potential upside of 19.28% from the company’s previous close.

A number of other research firms have also commented on AXP. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on shares of American Express from $167.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research report on Monday, April 22nd. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of American Express from $222.00 to $226.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, April 22nd. Evercore ISI boosted 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. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their target price on shares of American Express from $240.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, April 22nd. Finally, Citigroup assumed coverage on shares of American Express in a research report on Monday, June 10th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $250.00 target price on the stock. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $225.50.

American Express Price Performance

Shares of AXP opened at $238.94 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $171.87 billion, a PE ratio of 19.68, a PEG ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 1.21. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $234.68 and its 200 day moving average price is $219.14. 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 has a twelve month low of $140.91 and a twelve month high of $244.41.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 19th. The payment services company reported $3.33 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.97 by $0.36. American Express had a net margin of 14.50% and a return on equity of 32.46%. The company had revenue of $15.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.79 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.40 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 10.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts expect that American Express will post 12.98 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Anna Marrs sold 3,592 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $230.93, for a total value of $829,500.56. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 19,932 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,602,896.76. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, insider Anna Marrs sold 3,592 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $230.93, for a total value of $829,500.56. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 19,932 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,602,896.76. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Jennifer Skyler sold 14,802 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $241.73, for a total value of $3,578,087.46. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 16,371 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,957,361.83. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 177,717 shares of company stock valued at $41,680,999 in the last ninety days. 0.11% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On American Express

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Venture Visionary Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of American Express by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Venture Visionary Partners LLC now owns 23,211 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $4,349,000 after buying an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. Global Wealth Management Investment Advisory Inc. raised its stake in American Express by 5.5% in the 4th quarter. Global Wealth Management Investment Advisory Inc. now owns 11,587 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $2,171,000 after acquiring an additional 609 shares during the period. Cerity Partners LLC raised its stake in American Express by 417.3% in the 4th quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 415,696 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $77,876,000 after acquiring an additional 335,338 shares during the period. Cullen Investment Group LTD. bought a new stake in American Express in the 4th quarter valued at $2,460,000. Finally, J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. raised its stake in American Express by 35.6% in the 4th quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. now owns 9,806 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $1,837,000 after acquiring an additional 2,572 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

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.