American Express (NYSE:AXP) Hits New 12-Month High – Still a Buy?

American Express Company (NYSE:AXP) hit a new 52-week high on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $371.80 and last traded at $367.93, with a volume of 2876771 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $368.54.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have commented on the stock. Compass Point restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $324.00 price objective on shares of American Express in a research note on Monday, October 20th. Weiss Ratings lowered American Express from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Friday, November 7th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on American Express from $311.00 to $362.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, September 29th. HSBC set a $295.00 price objective on shares of American Express and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, October 10th. Finally, UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of American Express from $330.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 7th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $332.65.

American Express Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.78, a quick ratio of 1.59 and a current ratio of 1.61. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $342.22 and its 200-day moving average price is $316.58. The firm has a market cap of $256.59 billion, a PE ratio of 25.00, a P/E/G ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 1.27.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, October 17th. The payment services company reported $4.14 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.98 by $0.16. American Express had a net margin of 14.97% and a return on equity of 33.41%. The firm had revenue of $18.43 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $18.03 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $3.49 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 11.0% on a year-over-year basis. American Express has set its FY 2025 guidance at 15.200-15.500 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that American Express Company will post 15.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Express Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, November 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 10th were given a dividend of $0.82 per share. This represents a $3.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, October 10th. American Express’s payout ratio is presently 22.01%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Douglas Tabish sold 2,515 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $355.61, for a total value of $894,359.15. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 2,515 shares in the company, valued at $894,359.15. This trade represents a 50.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CMO Elizabeth Rutledge sold 50,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $360.21, for a total transaction of $18,010,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief marketing officer owned 85,577 shares in the company, valued at $30,825,691.17. This represents a 36.88% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 193,292 shares of company stock valued at $65,363,878 in the last three months. 0.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On American Express

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Prudent Investors Network Inc. acquired a new position in shares of American Express in the third quarter valued at approximately $424,000. Natixis Advisors LLC raised its holdings in American Express by 1.4% in the 3rd quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 683,515 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $227,037,000 after acquiring an additional 9,190 shares during the last quarter. Munich Reinsurance Co Stock Corp in Munich purchased a new position in shares of American Express during the 3rd quarter worth $334,000. Ameriflex Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of American Express by 161.6% during the third quarter. Ameriflex Group Inc. now owns 675 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $224,000 after purchasing an additional 417 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Angeles Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of American Express by 1.7% in the third quarter. Angeles Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,955 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $982,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares during the period. 84.33% of the stock is 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.