American Express (AXP) To Go Ex-Dividend on April 4th

American Express (NYSE:AXP) announced a quarterly dividend on Monday, March 3rd, RTT News reports. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 4th will be paid 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 dividend yield of 1.16%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 4th. This is an increase from American Express’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70.

American Express has increased its dividend payment by an average of 17.6% annually over the last three years. American Express has a payout ratio of 16.0% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. 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 $2.80 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 15.9%.

American Express Stock Down 4.2 %

NYSE:AXP opened at $283.05 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $198.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.24. The company has a current ratio of 1.58, a quick ratio of 1.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64. American Express has a twelve month low of $214.51 and a twelve month high of $326.27. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $306.96 and a 200-day simple moving average of $287.61.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 24th. The payment services company reported $3.04 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.00 by $0.04. American Express had a net margin of 15.36% and a return on equity of 32.65%. Analysts anticipate that American Express will post 15.33 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AXP has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of American Express from $355.00 to $370.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. William Blair reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of American Express in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on American Express from $305.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. BTIG Research raised their price objective on American Express from $266.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Truist Financial began coverage on American Express in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $350.00 price objective for the company. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, American Express currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $296.38.

Insider Buying and Selling at American Express

In other news, insider Raymond Joabar sold 15,179 shares of American Express stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 28th. The shares were 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $7,492,492.04. The trade was a 38.88 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Ravikumar Radhakrishnan sold 9,485 shares of American Express stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $319.17, for a total transaction of $3,027,327.45. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 13,500 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,308,795. The trade was a 41.27 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.12% of the stock is 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 holdings in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 24.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 6,481 shares of the payment services company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,273 shares during the quarter. Brighton Jones LLC’s holdings in American Express were worth $1,924,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC. 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.