American Century Companies Inc. Grows Stock Holdings in Aegon NV $AEG

Key Points

• American Century Companies Inc. increased its stake in Aegon NV by 4.0% during the first quarter, holding 949,193 shares valued at $6,255,000.
• Aegon received upgrades from several analysts, with BNP Paribas raising its rating from "neutral" to "outperform," indicating a positive outlook for the stock.
• Aegon announced a semi-annual dividend of $0.1876, representing a yield of 420.0%, while also launching a share repurchase program, suggesting confidence in the company's valuation.

American Century Companies Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Aegon NV (NYSE:AEG - Free Report) by 4.0% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 949,193 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 36,637 shares during the quarter. American Century Companies Inc.'s holdings in Aegon were worth $6,255,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Bessemer Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Aegon by 526.8% during the 1st 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 Aegon by 25.8% during the 1st quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. now owns 254,433 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,677,000 after purchasing an additional 52,174 shares during the period. Two Sigma Investments LP purchased a new position in Aegon during the 4th quarter valued at about $645,000. QRG Capital Management Inc. increased its position in Aegon by 5.7% during the 1st quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 93,462 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $616,000 after purchasing an additional 5,049 shares during the period. 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 valued at $257,000 after purchasing an additional 32,477 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 4.32% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have commented on the stock. Berenberg Bank raised shares of Aegon to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 29th. BNP Paribas raised shares of Aegon from a "hold" rating to an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. BNP Paribas Exane raised shares of Aegon from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Aegon from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and three have assigned a Buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Buy".

Aegon Stock Up 1.8%

Shares of Aegon stock traded up $0.14 on Wednesday, reaching $7.81. The stock had a trading volume of 4,162,977 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,547,394. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $7.34 and a 200 day moving average price of $6.83. The company has a quick ratio of 0.06, a current ratio of 0.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44. Aegon NV has a 1 year low of $5.42 and a 1 year high of $8.10. The stock has a market capitalization of $15.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.13, a P/E/G ratio of 0.26 and a beta of 0.99.

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 given a $0.1876 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, September 4th. This represents a dividend yield of 420.0%. Aegon's payout ratio is presently 38.54%.

Aegon announced that its board has authorized 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 buy shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often an indication that the company's management believes its shares are 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.