American Express Company (NYSE:AXP) Plans Quarterly Dividend of $0.82

American Express Company (NYSE:AXP) declared a quarterly dividend on Tuesday, June 17th, RTT News reports. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 3rd will be given a dividend of 0.82 per share by the payment services company on Friday, August 8th. This represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.12%.

American Express has a dividend payout ratio of 18.9% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities research 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 Down 0.5%

Shares of NYSE:AXP opened at $292.70 on Wednesday. American Express has a 12-month low of $220.43 and a 12-month high of $326.28. The company has a current ratio of 1.58, a quick ratio of 1.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64. The firm has a market cap of $205.06 billion, a PE ratio of 20.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 1.25. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $280.75 and a 200 day simple moving average of $288.78.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 17th. The payment services company reported $3.64 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.47 by $0.17. American Express had a net margin of 15.31% and a return on equity of 32.48%. The company had revenue of $16.97 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $17.04 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $3.33 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that American Express will post 15.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have issued reports on AXP shares. BTIG Research cut their price objective on American Express from $272.00 to $240.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 21st. Monness Crespi & Hardt upped their price target on American Express from $275.00 to $285.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, April 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on American Express from $244.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, April 21st. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $310.00 target price on shares of American Express in a research note on Monday, April 21st. Finally, Citigroup reduced their price target on shares of American Express from $320.00 to $300.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 24th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have given a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $296.05.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Glenda G. Mcneal sold 3,019 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $264.66, for a total value of $799,008.54. Following the sale, the insider now owns 10,919 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,889,822.54. The trade was a 21.66% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Howard Grosfield sold 9,450 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $275.50, for a total transaction of $2,603,475.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 9,402 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,590,251. This trade represents a 50.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On American Express

An institutional investor recently raised its position in American Express stock. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its stake in shares of American Express Company (NYSE:AXP) by 24.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor 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.

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.