Wells Fargo & Company Increases American Express (NYSE:AXP) Price Target to $265.00

American Express (NYSE:AXP) had its price objective boosted by equities research analysts at Wells Fargo & Company from $250.00 to $265.00 in a report released on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an “overweight” rating on the payment services company’s stock. Wells Fargo & Company‘s price target points to a potential upside of 11.77% from the stock’s previous close.

Several other analysts have also commented on the stock. StockNews.com upgraded shares of American Express from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Stephens upgraded shares of American Express from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $148.00 to $193.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 2nd. Oppenheimer reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of American Express in a research report on Friday, April 5th. Barclays reiterated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $221.00 target price (up previously from $220.00) on shares of American Express in a research report on Tuesday, April 9th. Finally, DZ Bank lowered shares of American Express from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 4th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, American Express has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $209.52.

American Express Stock Down 0.8 %

AXP stock opened at $237.10 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $170.55 billion, a PE ratio of 19.53, a P/E/G ratio of 1.36 and a beta of 1.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.70, a quick ratio of 1.63 and a current ratio of 1.62. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $222.11 and its 200 day moving average is $190.85. American Express has a one year low of $140.91 and a one year high of $240.55.

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 the consensus estimate of $2.97 by $0.36. The company had revenue of $15.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.79 billion. American Express had a net margin of 14.50% and a return on equity of 32.46%. The firm’s revenue was up 10.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $2.40 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that American Express will post 12.98 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Stephen J. Squeri sold 69,356 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $213.02, for a total value of $14,774,215.12. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 122,158 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $26,022,097.16. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, CEO Stephen J. Squeri sold 38,873 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $238.63, for a total value of $9,276,263.99. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 76,310 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $18,209,855.30. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Stephen J. Squeri sold 69,356 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $213.02, for a total transaction of $14,774,215.12. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 122,158 shares in the company, valued at $26,022,097.16. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 210,920 shares of company stock valued at $45,804,652. Company insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Venture Visionary Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of American Express by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Venture Visionary Partners LLC now owns 23,211 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $4,349,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of American Express by 417.3% in the fourth quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 415,696 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $77,876,000 after purchasing an additional 335,338 shares in the last quarter. Cullen Investment Group LTD. acquired a new position in shares of American Express in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $2,460,000. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in shares of American Express by 35.6% in the fourth quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. now owns 9,806 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $1,837,000 after purchasing an additional 2,572 shares in the last quarter. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of American Express by 1,313.2% in the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 768,769 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $1,440,210,000 after purchasing an additional 714,370 shares in the last quarter. 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.