American International Group, Inc. (NYSE:AIG) Sees Large Increase in Short Interest

American International Group, Inc. (NYSE:AIG - Get Free Report) saw a significant growth in short interest in May. As of May 15th, there was short interest totalling 8,180,000 shares, a growth of 20.1% from the April 30th total of 6,810,000 shares. Approximately 1.2% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 3,990,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.1 days.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Peter Zaffino sold 333,000 shares of American International Group stock in a transaction 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 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 document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, CEO Peter Zaffino sold 333,000 shares of American International Group stock in a transaction 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 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 document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director John C. Inglis acquired 659 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 14th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $75.39 per share, with a total value of $49,682.01. Following the transaction, 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 company insiders.

Institutional Trading of American International Group

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in American International Group by 303.3% during the first quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 367 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 276 shares in the last quarter. Rise Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of American International Group during the first quarter valued at approximately $29,000. CENTRAL TRUST Co grew its holdings in shares of American International Group by 123.8% during the first quarter. CENTRAL TRUST Co now owns 452 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 250 shares during the last quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new position in shares of American International Group during the third quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Finally, Neo Ivy Capital Management bought a new position in shares of American International Group during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.60% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on AIG shares. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on American International Group from $80.00 to $82.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, May 10th. HSBC downgraded American International Group from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $86.00 price target for the company. in a research report on Wednesday, May 15th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on American International Group from $72.00 to $79.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, April 15th. Citigroup boosted their price target on American International Group from $79.00 to $87.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on American International Group from $88.00 to $89.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, May 13th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $81.06.

American International Group Stock Up 0.7 %

Shares of NYSE:AIG traded up $0.57 during trading on Friday, hitting $78.82. The company's stock had a trading volume of 6,102,524 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,968,548. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05, a quick ratio of 0.29 and a current ratio of 0.29. American International Group has a fifty-two week low of $52.78 and a fifty-two week high of $80.83. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $77.12 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $71.83. The company has a market capitalization of $52.31 billion, a PE ratio of 11.76, a PEG ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 1.02.

American International Group (NYSE:AIG - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The insurance provider reported $1.77 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.66 by $0.11. American International Group had a return on equity of 10.54% and a net margin of 9.98%. The business had revenue of $12.58 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $12.04 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.63 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that American International Group will post 7.08 EPS for the current year.

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

American International Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 14th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.03%. This is a boost from American International Group's previous quarterly dividend of $0.36. American International Group's dividend payout ratio is presently 21.49%.

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.