Aegon (NYSE:AEG) Cut to “Hold” at Zacks Research

Zacks Research cut shares of Aegon (NYSE:AEG) from a strong-buy rating to a hold rating in a report published on Tuesday morning,Zacks.com reports.

Several other research firms also recently issued reports on AEG. Wall Street Zen downgraded Aegon from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, October 25th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b+)” rating on shares of Aegon in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Aegon has a consensus rating of “Buy”.

Aegon Stock Up 0.9%

Shares of NYSE:AEG opened at $7.59 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $15.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -29.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.24 and a beta of 0.97. Aegon has a 52 week low of $5.42 and a 52 week high of $8.15. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $7.72 and a 200 day moving average of $7.23.

Aegon Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a semi-annual dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 25th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, September 4th were given a dividend of $0.1876 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, September 4th. This represents a dividend yield of 584.0%. Aegon’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -146.15%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Aegon

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Bessemer Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Aegon by 526.8% in the 1st quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 4,325 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 3,635 shares during the last quarter. SVB Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Aegon in the first quarter worth approximately $42,000. CWM LLC boosted its stake in shares of Aegon by 87.2% in the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 5,767 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $46,000 after acquiring an additional 2,687 shares during the last quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust boosted its stake in shares of Aegon by 299.5% in the third quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 7,410 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $59,000 after acquiring an additional 5,555 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Deutsche Bank AG acquired a new stake in shares of Aegon in the first quarter worth approximately $61,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 4.32% of the company’s stock.

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.