Aegon (NYSE:AEG) Shares Gap Down to $4.57

Aegon (NYSE:AEG – Get Rating)’s share price gapped down before the market opened on Wednesday . The stock had previously closed at $4.57, but opened at $4.18. Aegon shares last traded at $4.21, with a volume of 968,208 shares changing hands.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have weighed in on AEG. Barclays lifted their target price on Aegon from €5.30 ($5.70) to €5.50 ($5.91) in a research note on Tuesday, November 22nd. UBS Group raised Aegon from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 12th. Finally, StockNews.com began coverage on Aegon in a research note on Thursday. They set a “hold” rating on the stock. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $5.15.

Aegon Stock Up 1.4 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 0.09 and a current ratio of 0.09. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $5.26 and a 200 day moving average price of $4.83. The company has a market cap of $11.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.19 and a beta of 1.13.

Aegon Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 29th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 30th will be paid a $0.1288 dividend. This represents a dividend yield of 3.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 26th. This is an increase from Aegon’s previous semi-annual dividend of $0.10. Aegon’s payout ratio is currently 25.71%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Aegon

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Claro Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Aegon by 12.1% in the 4th quarter. Claro Advisors LLC now owns 32,397 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $163,000 after acquiring an additional 3,509 shares during the last quarter. Capital Asset Advisory Services LLC acquired a new position in shares of Aegon in the 4th quarter worth $101,000. Macquarie Group Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Aegon by 19.9% in the 4th quarter. Macquarie Group Ltd. now owns 41,400 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $209,000 after acquiring an additional 6,885 shares during the last quarter. AlphaQ Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Aegon in the 4th quarter worth $91,000. Finally, CI Private Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of Aegon in the 4th quarter worth $658,000. 19.30% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Aegon Company Profile

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Aegon NV is an international financial services company, which engages in the provision of investment, protection, and retirement solutions. It operates through the following segments: Americas, The Netherlands, United Kingdom, International, Asset Management, and Holding and Other Activities. The Americas segment covers business units in the United States and Brazil, including any of the units’ activities located outside these countries.