American International Group (NYSE:AIG) to Buyback $10.00 billion in Outstanding Shares

American International Group (NYSE:AIG) declared that its board has authorized a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, May 1st, RTT News reports. The company plans to buyback $10.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the insurance provider to repurchase up to 19.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AIG has been the topic of several research reports. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on American International Group from $76.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 15th. BMO Capital Markets reduced their target price on shares of American International Group from $83.00 to $81.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 15th. Bank of America downgraded shares of American International Group from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and raised their target price for the company from $75.00 to $77.00 in a research report on Tuesday, February 20th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of American International Group from $74.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Finally, UBS Group raised their price objective on American International Group from $83.00 to $84.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 22nd. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, American International Group presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $80.44.

American International Group Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:AIG opened at $78.48 on Friday. American International Group has a 12-month low of $48.95 and a 12-month high of $79.70. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $75.24 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $69.36. The firm has a market cap of $53.44 billion, a PE ratio of 11.71, a PEG ratio of 1.09 and a beta of 1.02. The company has a quick ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 0.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44.

American International Group (NYSE:AIG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The insurance provider reported $1.77 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 analysts’ expectations of $12.04 billion. American International Group had a return on equity of 10.68% and a net margin of 9.98%. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.63 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that American International Group will post 6.95 earnings per share for the current year.

American International Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 14th will be issued a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.04%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 14th. This is an increase from American International Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.36. American International Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 21.49%.

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 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 SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, CEO Peter Zaffino sold 333,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 15th. The stock was 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 owns 505,420 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $38,346,215.40. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director John C. Inglis bought 659 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 14th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $75.39 per share, for a total transaction of $49,682.01. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 659 shares in the company, valued at $49,682.01. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Company insiders own 0.61% of the company’s stock.

About American International Group

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.