Aegon NV $AEG Shares Purchased by Northern Trust Corp

Northern Trust Corp raised its holdings in Aegon NV (NYSE:AEG) by 2.3% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 1,452,121 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 32,181 shares during the quarter. Northern Trust Corp’s holdings in Aegon were worth $9,569,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Bessemer Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Aegon by 526.8% in the first quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 4,325 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 3,635 shares in the last quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Aegon by 25.8% in the first quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. now owns 254,433 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,677,000 after buying an additional 52,174 shares in the last quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP purchased a new position in shares of Aegon in the fourth quarter valued at $645,000. QRG Capital Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Aegon by 5.7% in the first quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 93,462 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $616,000 after buying an additional 5,049 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in Aegon by 499.0% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 38,986 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $257,000 after purchasing an additional 32,477 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 4.32% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently commented on AEG shares. Berenberg Bank upgraded Aegon to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 29th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Aegon from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 30th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and three have issued a Buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Buy”.

Aegon Stock Down 0.3%

AEG opened at $7.53 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44, a current ratio of 0.06 and a quick ratio of 0.06. The stock has a market capitalization of $15.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.26 and a beta of 0.99. The business has a 50-day moving average of $7.35 and a two-hundred day moving average of $6.84. Aegon NV has a 12 month low of $5.42 and a 12 month high of $8.10.

Aegon Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 25th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, September 4th will be paid a $0.1876 dividend. This represents a dividend yield of 584.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, September 4th. Aegon’s payout ratio is currently 39.58%.

Aegon declared that its board has approved a stock repurchase program on Friday, May 16th that authorizes the company to buyback 0 outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the financial services provider to purchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

About Aegon

Aegon Ltd. provides insurance, pensions, retirement, and asset management services in the United States, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, and internationally. The company offers life, accident, property and casualty, and health insurance; annuities, retirement plans, mutual funds, and stable value solutions; residential mortgage and digital baking services; and retail and institutional investment management solutions and retirement savings vehicles and strategies.