American Express (NYSE:AXP) Upgraded at Robert W. Baird

American Express (NYSE:AXP) was upgraded by research analysts at Robert W. Baird from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note issued on Friday,Briefing.com Automated Import reports. The firm presently has a $265.00 target price on the payment services company’s stock. Robert W. Baird’s price objective would suggest a potential upside of 3.39% from the stock’s previous close.

Other analysts have also issued reports about the stock. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of American Express from $355.00 to $370.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. BTIG Research lifted their price objective on American Express from $266.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on American Express from $330.00 to $350.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Compass Point reduced their target price on shares of American Express from $325.00 to $309.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of American Express from $305.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have given a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $299.24.

American Express Trading Down 1.7 %

Shares of AXP opened at $256.31 on Friday. The company’s fifty day moving average is $302.33 and its 200 day moving average is $287.88. American Express has a fifty-two week low of $214.51 and a fifty-two week high of $326.27. The stock has a market capitalization of $180.07 billion, a PE ratio of 18.29, a P/E/G ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64, a quick ratio of 1.57 and a current ratio of 1.58.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 24th. The payment services company reported $3.04 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.00 by $0.04. American Express had a net margin of 15.36% and a return on equity of 32.65%. Sell-side analysts expect that American Express will post 15.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at American Express

In other American Express news, insider Raymond Joabar sold 15,179 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $313.94, for a total value of $4,765,295.26. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 23,866 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,492,492.04. This trade represents a 38.88 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Michael J. Angelakis acquired 3,700 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 7th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $269.89 per share, for a total transaction of $998,593.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 3,700 shares in the company, valued at $998,593. This represents a ∞ increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.12% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of AXP. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV raised its holdings in shares of American Express by 39.3% during the 3rd quarter. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV now owns 1,231 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $334,000 after acquiring an additional 347 shares during the period. GSA Capital Partners LLP raised its holdings in American Express by 4.2% in the 3rd quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP now owns 2,655 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $720,000 after buying an additional 108 shares during the period. Curi RMB Capital LLC raised its holdings in American Express by 18.2% in the 3rd quarter. Curi RMB Capital LLC now owns 2,299 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $623,000 after buying an additional 354 shares during the period. Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in American Express by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter. Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. now owns 6,055 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $1,642,000 after buying an additional 50 shares during the period. Finally, Lifeworks Advisors LLC raised its holdings in American Express by 2.8% in the 3rd quarter. Lifeworks Advisors LLC now owns 3,134 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $850,000 after buying an additional 86 shares during the period. 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.