American Express Co. (AXP, Financial) has announced its most recent quarterly dividend. The company will increase the dividend to 35 cents after paying a dividend of 32 cents for the four previous quarters. The dividend is payable on Nov. 10 with an ex-dividend date of Oct. 5.
The company is currently reporting a one-year dividend growth rate of 7.96% and a three-year dividend growth rate of 22.73%. It now has a forward dividend yield of 1.56%.
The stock is trading at $90. Year to date, it has a return of 21.49%. For the one-year period it has gained 40.14%, and for the three-year period it has a return of 1.84%.
In the company’s most recent second-quarter earnings results, it reported revenue and earnings that beat analysts’ expectations for the quarter. Second-quarter revenue was $8.31 billion, an increase of 1% from the comparable quarter. For the first half of the year, revenue is $16.196 billion, which is down from $16.323 billion.
Earnings per share for the second quarter were $1.47, a decrease from $2.11 in the comparable quarter. For the first half of the year, earnings per share are down 21% at $2.81.
Income by business segment shows commercial services accounting for the greatest majority of the company’s income in the first half of the year. Global merchant services is currently leading in income growth with a gain of 2% from 2016.
In the third quarter, American Express launched a new Delta card and its Pay It Plan It mobile offering. In a new partnership with Delta (DAL, Financial), the company has launched the no-fee Blue Delta SkyMiles card. The Pay It Plan It mobile offering is also new for American Express and builds on its loan expansion. Pay It Plan It offers customers installment payments on card purchases of over $100.
Currently, American Express is reporting 884 million shares outstanding with a market cap of $80 billion. The majority of the company’s shares are owned by institutional investors at 81%. The company’s top institutional shareholder is Warren Buffett (Trades, Portfolio)’s Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.A, Financial)(BRK.B, Financial) with 16.77% of the outstanding shares.
Disclosure: I do not own shares of AXP.
