American Express (NYSE:AXP) Reaches New 52-Week High on Earnings Beat

American Express (NYSE:AXP)’s share price reached a new 52-week high on Monday after the company announced better than expected quarterly earnings. The company traded as high as $232.87 and last traded at $232.87, with a volume of 16780 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $231.04.

The payment services company reported $3.33 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.97 by $0.36. American Express had a net margin of 14.50% and a return on equity of 32.39%. The firm had revenue of $15.80 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.79 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.40 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 10.6% compared to the same quarter last year.

American Express Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 5th will be paid a dividend of $0.10 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 4th. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.17%. American Express’s dividend payout ratio is currently 23.06%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have issued reports on AXP shares. Barclays reissued an “equal weight” rating and set a $221.00 price objective (up from $220.00) on shares of American Express in a report on Tuesday, April 9th. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on American Express from $229.00 to $243.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a report on Thursday, March 28th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on American Express from $188.00 to $206.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, January 29th. DZ Bank cut American Express from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Thursday, January 4th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price target on American Express from $240.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $208.24.

Insider Transactions at American Express

In related news, CEO Stephen J. Squeri sold 69,356 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $213.02, for a total value of $14,774,215.12. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 122,158 shares in the company, valued at approximately $26,022,097.16. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, CEO Stephen J. Squeri sold 69,356 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $213.02, for a total value of $14,774,215.12. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 122,158 shares in the company, valued at approximately $26,022,097.16. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Howard Grosfield sold 7,029 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $203.65, for a total value of $1,431,455.85. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 12,388 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,522,816.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 172,047 shares of company stock worth $36,528,388. 0.11% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On American Express

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Venture Visionary Partners LLC lifted its stake in American Express by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Venture Visionary Partners LLC now owns 23,211 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $4,349,000 after acquiring an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of American Express by 417.3% during the 4th quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 415,696 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $77,876,000 after purchasing an additional 335,338 shares in the last quarter. Cullen Investment Group LTD. bought a new stake in shares of American Express during the 4th quarter worth approximately $2,460,000. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. raised its stake in shares of American Express by 35.6% during the 4th quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. now owns 9,806 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $1,837,000 after purchasing an additional 2,572 shares in the last quarter. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its stake in shares of American Express by 1,313.2% during the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 768,769 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $1,440,210,000 after purchasing an additional 714,370 shares in the last quarter. 84.33% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

American Express Trading Up 2.5 %

The company has a market cap of $172.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.68, a PEG ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 1.23. The company has a current ratio of 1.73, a quick ratio of 1.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $221.05 and a 200-day moving average price of $190.19.

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.