Stock Traders Purchase High Volume of Call Options on American International Group (NYSE:AIG)

American International Group, Inc. (NYSE:AIG - Get Free Report) was the target of unusually large options trading activity on Wednesday. Stock investors acquired 16,151 call options on the company. This represents an increase of 89% compared to the typical daily volume of 8,553 call options.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently commented on AIG. Bank of America cut shares of American International Group from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and increased their target price for the stock from $75.00 to $77.00 in a report on Tuesday, February 20th. TD Cowen assumed coverage on American International Group in a research note on Wednesday, January 10th. They issued a "market perform" rating and a $78.00 price objective for the company. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on American International Group from $72.00 to $79.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, April 15th. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price objective on American International Group from $83.00 to $81.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 15th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective 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. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $80.38.

American International Group Trading Up 0.7 %

Shares of AIG stock traded up $0.52 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $75.83. 4,548,443 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,939,293. The firm has a market cap of $51.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.20, a P/E/G ratio of 1.09 and a beta of 1.03. American International Group has a fifty-two week low of $48.95 and a fifty-two week high of $78.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44, a quick ratio of 0.31 and a current ratio of 0.31. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $75.10 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $69.30.

American International Group (NYSE:AIG - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 14th. The insurance provider reported $1.79 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.59 by $0.20. The company had revenue of $1.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.61 billion. American International Group had a net margin of 7.78% and a return on equity of 10.68%. The company's quarterly revenue was up .0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.36 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that American International Group will post 6.95 EPS for the current year.

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 issued a $0.36 dividend. This represents a $1.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.90%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 13th. American International Group's dividend payout ratio is currently 28.86%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director John C. Inglis acquired 659 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 14th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $75.39 per share, for a total transaction of $49,682.01. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 659 shares in the company, valued at $49,682.01. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other news, CEO Peter Zaffino sold 333,000 shares of the 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 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 document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director John C. Inglis bought 659 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 14th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $75.39 per share, with a total value of $49,682.01. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 659 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $49,682.01. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.61% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On American International Group

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Sage Mountain Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of American International Group by 2.3% in the 1st quarter. Sage Mountain Advisors LLC now owns 6,700 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $524,000 after purchasing an additional 148 shares in the last quarter. Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund lifted its holdings in shares of American International Group by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund now owns 25,011 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $1,694,000 after purchasing an additional 154 shares in the last quarter. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC lifted its holdings in shares of American International Group by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 18,553 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $1,257,000 after purchasing an additional 157 shares in the last quarter. Meeder Advisory Services Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of American International Group by 1.3% in the 3rd quarter. Meeder Advisory Services Inc. now owns 12,808 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $776,000 after purchasing an additional 162 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Avantax Advisory Services Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of American International Group by 3.6% in the 3rd quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. now owns 4,819 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $292,000 after purchasing an additional 167 shares in the last quarter. 90.60% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.