American Express (NYSE:AXP) Price Target Increased to $267.00 by Analysts at Royal Bank of Canada

American Express (NYSE:AXP) had its price target increased by Royal Bank of Canada from $265.00 to $267.00 in a research note published on Monday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an outperform rating on the payment services company’s stock.

Other equities analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. William Blair reaffirmed an outperform rating on shares of American Express in a research note on Monday, June 3rd. Evercore ISI lifted 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 note on Wednesday, April 24th. Oppenheimer reissued an outperform rating on shares of American Express in a research report on Friday, April 5th. Barclays raised their price target on shares of American Express from $221.00 to $223.00 and gave the stock an equal weight rating in a report on Tuesday, July 9th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of American Express from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 23rd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, American Express currently has a consensus rating of Hold and an average price target of $230.70.

American Express Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:AXP opened at $240.99 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.62, a current ratio of 1.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74. The stock has a market cap of $171.32 billion, a PE ratio of 19.85, a PEG ratio of 1.35 and a beta of 1.21. The company’s fifty day moving average is $236.16 and its 200 day moving average is $223.15. American Express has a 52 week low of $140.91 and a 52 week high of $253.73.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 19th. The payment services company reported $3.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.26 by $0.23. American Express had a return on equity of 32.94% and a net margin of 15.53%. The firm had revenue of $16.33 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.60 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.89 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that American Express will post 13.36 earnings per share for the current year.

American Express Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 9th. Investors of record on Friday, July 5th will be paid a dividend of $0.70 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, July 5th. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.16%. This is a positive change from American Express’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.10. American Express’s payout ratio is presently 23.06%.

Insider Buying and Selling at American Express

In other 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 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 legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, insider Anna Marrs sold 3,592 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 3rd. The stock was 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 directly owns 19,932 shares in the company, valued at $4,602,896.76. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Vice Chairman Douglas E. Buckminster sold 117,309 shares of American Express stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $232.44, for a total value of $27,267,303.96. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 110,318 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $25,642,315.92. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 138,844 shares of company stock valued at $32,404,735. Corporate insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On American Express

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in AXP. Scarborough Advisors LLC bought a new position in American Express in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. BKM Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of American Express in the 4th quarter worth $28,000. Tennessee Valley Asset Management Partners purchased a new position in shares of American Express in the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Sachetta LLC bought a new position in shares of American Express during the fourth quarter valued at $29,000. Finally, Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of American Express during the fourth quarter valued at $29,000. Hedge funds and other 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.