American Express (NYSE:AXP) Raises Dividend to $0.82 Per Share

American Express (NYSE:AXP) announced a quarterly dividend on Monday, March 3rd, RTT News reports. Investors of record on Friday, April 4th will be given a dividend of 0.82 per share by the payment services company on Friday, May 9th. This represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.21%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 4th. This is a 17.1% increase from American Express’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70.

American Express has increased its dividend by an average of 17.6% annually over the last three years. American Express has a dividend payout ratio of 18.7% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities analysts expect American Express to earn $17.60 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $3.28 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 18.6%.

American Express Stock Up 0.5 %

Shares of American Express stock opened at $270.31 on Wednesday. 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 has a 52-week low of $214.51 and a 52-week high of $326.28. The firm has a market cap of $189.90 billion, a PE ratio of 19.29, a P/E/G ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.21. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $293.20 and its 200 day simple moving average is $289.86.

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

Insider Transactions at American Express

In related news, Director Michael J. Angelakis acquired 3,700 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 7th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $269.89 per share, with a total value of $998,593.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 3,700 shares in the company, valued at approximately $998,593. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Ravikumar Radhakrishnan sold 9,485 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $319.17, for a total transaction of $3,027,327.45. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 13,500 shares in the company, valued at $4,308,795. This represents a 41.27 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On American Express

An institutional investor recently raised its position in American Express stock. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its stake in American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 24.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 6,481 shares of the payment services company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,273 shares during the period. Brighton Jones LLC’s holdings in American Express were worth $1,924,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period. 84.33% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on American Express from $350.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price objective on shares of American Express from $367.00 to $330.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 18th. Evercore ISI raised their target price on shares of American Express from $315.00 to $344.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Compass Point lowered their price target on American Express from $325.00 to $309.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on American Express from $330.00 to $350.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have issued a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, American Express currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $302.57.

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.