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

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

Other research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the company. Evercore ISI upped their target price on American Express from $243.00 to $255.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 24th. HSBC upped their target price on American Express from $232.00 to $239.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on American Express from $222.00 to $226.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on American Express from $253.00 to $263.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 1st. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on American Express from $265.00 to $280.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, American Express presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $225.50.

American Express Trading Up 0.5 %

Shares of AXP stock opened at $238.94 on Tuesday. American Express has a 1 year low of $140.91 and a 1 year high of $244.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.70, a current ratio of 1.62 and a quick ratio of 1.62. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $234.68 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $219.14. The company has a market cap of $171.87 billion, a PE ratio of 19.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 1.21.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 19th. The payment services company reported $3.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.97 by $0.36. American Express had a return on equity of 32.46% and a net margin of 14.50%. The business had revenue of $15.80 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.79 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.40 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 10.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that American Express will post 12.98 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related 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 value of $829,500.56. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 19,932 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,602,896.76. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other American Express news, insider Anna Marrs sold 3,592 shares of American Express stock in a transaction dated 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 owns 19,932 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,602,896.76. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Jennifer Skyler sold 14,802 shares of American Express stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the insider now owns 16,371 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,957,361.83. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 177,717 shares of company stock worth $41,680,999 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.11% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On American Express

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Game Plan Financial Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of American Express by 62.5% during the 1st quarter. Game Plan Financial Advisors LLC now owns 130 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares during the period. Scarborough Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of American Express during the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. BKM Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of American Express during the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Tennessee Valley Asset Management Partners acquired a new stake in shares of American Express during the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Finally, Sachetta LLC acquired a new stake in shares of American Express during the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. 84.33% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.