Aegon (NYSE:AEG) Cut to “Neutral” at JPMorgan Chase & Co.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered shares of Aegon (NYSE:AEG) from an overweight rating to a neutral rating in a report issued on Thursday, Marketbeat.com reports.

AEG has been the topic of a number of other reports. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Aegon from a “buy (a-)” rating to a “buy (b+)” rating in a research report on Friday, October 9th. Zacks Research raised shares of Aegon from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 25th. Finally, Citigroup reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Aegon in a report on Tuesday, August 18th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $10.00.

Aegon Trading Down 1.4%

Shares of NYSE AEG opened at $8.10 on Thursday. Aegon has a 12-month low of $6.75 and a 12-month high of $9.61. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $8.82 and its 200 day simple moving average is $8.66.

Aegon Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 24th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, September 3rd were given a dividend of $0.2455 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, September 3rd. This represents a dividend yield of 534.0%. This is a negative change from Aegon’s previous dividend of $0.2469.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Aegon

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in Aegon by 8.3% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 11,741,711 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $85,233,000 after purchasing an additional 901,979 shares during the period. Quantinno Capital Management LP raised its holdings in Aegon by 42.8% in the first quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 1,735,351 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $12,599,000 after purchasing an additional 520,221 shares during the period. Transmarket Holdings LP raised its holdings in Aegon by 106.1% in the first quarter. Transmarket Holdings LP now owns 665,613 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $4,832,000 after purchasing an additional 342,704 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE raised its holdings in Aegon by 39.7% in the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 362,408 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,631,000 after purchasing an additional 102,930 shares during the period. Finally, Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Aegon by 301.6% in the first quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 121,708 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $884,000 after purchasing an additional 91,402 shares during the period. 4.32% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Aegon

Aegon N.V. is an international financial services company that provides insurance, retirement, and investment products. Its offerings include life insurance, annuities, pensions, retirement plans, employee benefits, and asset management services for individuals, employers, and institutional clients.

Aegon conducts much of its business through the Transamerica brand in the United States, offering retirement solutions, life insurance, investment products, and workplace benefits. The company also has operations in selected European markets, including the United Kingdom, Spain, and Portugal, as well as international asset management activities.

Headquartered in The Hague, the Netherlands, Aegon was formed in 1983 through the merger of Dutch insurers AGO and Ennia, whose roots extend back more than 175 years.