American International Group Sees Unusually Large Options Volume (NYSE:AIG)

American International Group, Inc. (NYSE:AIG) was the target of some unusual options trading activity on Wednesday. Stock traders bought 16,151 call options on the stock. This is an increase of 89% compared to the average daily volume of 8,553 call options.

American International Group Stock Up 3.0 %

Shares of NYSE:AIG opened at $78.10 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44, a current ratio of 0.31 and a quick ratio of 0.31. The firm has a market capitalization of $53.18 billion, a PE ratio of 15.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.08 and a beta of 1.02. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $75.24 and its two-hundred day moving average is $69.36. American International Group has a 1 year low of $48.95 and a 1 year high of $79.70.

American International Group (NYSE:AIG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The insurance provider reported $1.77 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.66 by $0.11. The company had revenue of $12.58 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $12.04 billion. American International Group had a net margin of 7.78% and a return on equity of 10.68%. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.63 earnings per share. Analysts predict that American International Group will post 6.95 EPS for the current year.

American International Group announced that its board has authorized a share buyback program on Wednesday, May 1st that permits the company to buyback $10.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the insurance provider to purchase up to 19.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

American International Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 14th were paid a dividend of $0.36 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 13th. This represents a $1.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.84%. American International Group’s payout ratio is 28.86%.

Insider Buying and Selling at American International Group

In related news, CEO Peter Zaffino sold 333,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.87, for a total value of $25,264,710.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 505,420 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $38,346,215.40. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other American International Group news, Director John C. Inglis purchased 659 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 14th. The shares were bought at an average price of $75.39 per share, for a total transaction of $49,682.01. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 659 shares in the company, valued at $49,682.01. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Peter Zaffino sold 333,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.87, for a total transaction of $25,264,710.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 505,420 shares in the company, valued at approximately $38,346,215.40. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.61% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of American International Group

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in AIG. Norges Bank acquired a new position in American International Group in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $746,005,000. LSV Asset Management boosted its holdings in American International Group by 13.2% in the third quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 5,496,879 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $333,111,000 after purchasing an additional 639,079 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC boosted its holdings in American International Group by 5.0% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 12,745,085 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $772,352,000 after purchasing an additional 604,901 shares in the last quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. boosted its holdings in American International Group by 95.8% in the fourth quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 1,221,724 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $82,772,000 after purchasing an additional 597,661 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. boosted its holdings in American International Group by 3.0% in the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 17,085,545 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $1,035,384,000 after purchasing an additional 503,547 shares in the last quarter. 90.60% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently commented on AIG. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of American International Group from $74.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on shares of American International Group from $82.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on shares of American International Group from $76.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of American International Group from $73.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, April 8th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lowered their target price on shares of American International Group from $83.00 to $81.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 15th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $80.38.

American International Group Company Profile

American International Group, Inc offers insurance products for commercial, institutional, and individual customers in North America and internationally. It operates through three segments: General Insurance, Life and Retirement, and Other Operations. The General Insurance segment provides commercial and industrial property insurance, including business interruption and package insurance that cover exposure to made and natural disasters; general liability, environmental, commercial automobile liability, workers' compensation, excess casualty, and crisis management insurance products; and professional liability insurance.