Morgan Stanley Boosts American Express (NYSE:AXP) Price Target to $248.00

American Express (NYSE:AXP) had its target price increased by Morgan Stanley from $226.00 to $248.00 in a report published on Monday morning, Benzinga reports. Morgan Stanley currently has an equal weight rating on the payment services company’s stock.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently weighed in on the company. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on American Express from $265.00 to $267.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, July 22nd. Monness Crespi & Hardt raised their price objective on American Express from $265.00 to $300.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday. Bank of America raised their price objective on American Express from $263.00 to $265.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 17th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on American Express from $285.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, September 30th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on American Express from $270.00 to $300.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have assigned a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, American Express currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $242.33.

American Express Stock Performance

Shares of American Express stock opened at $281.67 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $202.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.20, a P/E/G ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a current ratio of 1.66, a quick ratio of 1.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74. American Express has a 12 month low of $140.91 and a 12 month high of $281.87. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $259.44 and its 200-day moving average price is $243.14.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, July 19th. The payment services company reported $3.49 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.26 by $0.23. The firm had revenue of $16.33 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.60 billion. American Express had a return on equity of 32.94% and a net margin of 15.53%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.89 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that American Express will post 13.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Express Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 8th. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 4th will be paid a dividend of $0.70 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 4th. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.99%. American Express’s payout ratio is 23.06%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On American Express

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Sovereign Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of American Express by 2.7% during the 3rd quarter. Sovereign Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,467 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $398,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares during the period. Sawgrass Asset Management LLC grew its stake in shares of American Express by 0.4% during the 2nd quarter. Sawgrass Asset Management LLC now owns 10,384 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $2,404,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares during the period. Davis Investment Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of American Express by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. Davis Investment Partners LLC now owns 8,011 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $2,170,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares during the period. Ignite Planners LLC grew its stake in shares of American Express by 0.9% during the 2nd quarter. Ignite Planners LLC now owns 4,682 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $1,103,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares during the period. Finally, Willner & Heller LLC grew its stake in shares of American Express by 4.1% during the 2nd quarter. Willner & Heller LLC now owns 1,087 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $252,000 after purchasing an additional 43 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.