American International Group (NYSE:AIG) Sets New 52-Week High After Strong Earnings

Shares of American International Group, Inc. (NYSE:AIG - Get Free Report) reached a new 52-week high during trading on Thursday following a better than expected earnings announcement. The company traded as high as $79.70 and last traded at $77.88, with a volume of 1109757 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $75.81.

The insurance provider reported $1.77 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.66 by $0.11. American International Group had a net margin of 7.78% and a return on equity of 10.68%. The business had revenue of $12.58 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $12.04 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.63 EPS.

American International Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 14th were issued a $0.36 dividend. The ex-dividend date 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%.

American International Group announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback plan on Wednesday, May 1st that permits the company to repurchase $10.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the insurance provider to repurchase up to 19.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often a sign that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AIG has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price objective on shares of American International Group from $83.00 to $81.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 15th. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of American International Group from $83.00 to $84.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 22nd. Piper Sandler lifted their price target on shares of American International Group from $87.00 to $89.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, April 19th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on shares of American International Group from $82.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of American International Group from $72.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, April 15th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, American International Group currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $80.38.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Peter Zaffino sold 333,000 shares of American International Group stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 505,420 shares of the company's stock, valued at $38,346,215.40. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, CEO Peter Zaffino sold 333,000 shares of American International Group stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 505,420 shares of the company's stock, valued at $38,346,215.40. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director John C. Inglis bought 659 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 14th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $75.39 per share, for a total transaction of $49,682.01. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 659 shares of the company's stock, valued at $49,682.01. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.61% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of American International Group

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of American International Group in the fourth quarter valued at about $746,005,000. LSV Asset Management lifted its stake in shares of 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 during the period. FMR LLC lifted its stake in shares of 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 during the period. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. lifted its stake in shares of 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 during the period. Finally, Invesco Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of 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 during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.60% of the company's stock.

American International Group Price Performance

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 company's 50 day moving average is $75.24 and its 200 day moving average is $69.36. The stock has a market cap of $53.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.65, a PEG ratio of 1.08 and a beta of 1.02.

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.