American Express (NYSE:AXP) Plans Quarterly Dividend of $0.70

American Express (NYSE:AXP) announced a quarterly dividend on Tuesday, May 7th, RTT News reports. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 5th will be given a dividend of 0.70 per share by the payment services company on Friday, August 9th. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.19%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, July 5th. This is an increase from American Express’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.10.

American Express has increased its dividend by an average of 10.5% per year over the last three years. American Express has a dividend payout ratio of 18.8% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Analysts expect American Express to earn $14.93 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $2.80 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 18.8%.

American Express Stock Performance

NYSE AXP opened at $235.53 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.70, a current ratio of 1.62 and a quick ratio of 1.62. American Express has a 1-year low of $140.91 and a 1-year high of $244.41. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $234.65 and its 200-day simple moving average is $217.18. The firm has a market capitalization of $169.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.40, a P/E/G ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 1.21.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 19th. The payment services company reported $3.33 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.97 by $0.36. The company had revenue of $15.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $15.79 billion. American Express had a return on equity of 32.46% and a net margin of 14.50%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 10.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.40 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that American Express will post 13 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of American Express from $222.00 to $226.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, April 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on American Express from $265.00 to $275.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 4th. Barclays reiterated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $221.00 price target (up previously from $220.00) on shares of American Express in a research note on Tuesday, April 9th. Monness Crespi & Hardt upgraded American Express from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $245.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Friday, April 5th. Finally, BTIG Research initiated coverage on shares of American Express in a report on Friday, June 7th. They issued a “neutral” rating on the stock. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $220.30.

Insider Activity

In other American Express news, CEO Stephen J. Squeri sold 38,873 shares of the firm’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 owns 76,310 shares in the company, valued at $18,209,855.30. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, insider Anna Marrs sold 3,592 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $230.93, for a total value of $829,500.56. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 19,932 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,602,896.76. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Stephen J. Squeri sold 38,873 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $238.63, for a total transaction of $9,276,263.99. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 76,310 shares in the company, valued at $18,209,855.30. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 177,717 shares of company stock valued at $41,680,999. 0.11% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.