Investors Buy Large Volume of Call Options on American International Group (NYSE:AIG)

American International Group, Inc. (NYSE:AIG) saw unusually large options trading on Friday. Traders purchased 27,879 call options on the stock. This represents an increase of 552% compared to the typical volume of 4,275 call options.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “neutral” rating and set a $79.00 target price (down from $83.00) on shares of American International Group in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on American International Group from $75.00 to $76.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on American International Group from $87.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on American International Group from $75.00 to $83.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on American International Group from $89.00 to $83.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $84.31.

American International Group Trading Up 2.2 %

NYSE:AIG opened at $83.37 on Friday. American International Group has a twelve month low of $69.00 and a twelve month high of $83.77. The company has a quick ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $76.25 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $75.31. The company has a market cap of $49.47 billion, a P/E ratio of -40.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 0.98.

American International Group (NYSE:AIG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 11th. The insurance provider reported $1.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.33 by ($0.03). American International Group had a positive return on equity of 8.01% and a negative net margin of 4.25%. As a group, analysts expect that American International Group will post 6.24 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American International Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 17th will be paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.92%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 17th. American International Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently -76.92%.

Insider Transactions at American International Group

In related news, Director John G. Rice bought 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 13th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $77.00 per share, for a total transaction of $770,000.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 10,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $770,000. This represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.61% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On American International Group

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH bought a new stake in American International Group in the 4th quarter valued at $28,113,000. Integrated Advisors Network LLC raised its stake in American International Group by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Integrated Advisors Network LLC now owns 16,316 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $1,188,000 after acquiring an additional 161 shares during the period. Ameriflex Group Inc. bought a new stake in American International Group in the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. Challenger Wealth Management bought a new stake in American International Group in the 4th quarter valued at $269,000. Finally, AlphaCore Capital LLC raised its stake in American International Group by 11.8% in the 4th quarter. AlphaCore Capital LLC now owns 12,349 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $899,000 after acquiring an additional 1,300 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 90.60% 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.