Aegon Ltd. (AEG) to Issue Semi-annual Dividend of $0.20 on July 7th

Aegon Ltd. (NYSE:AEG) announced a semi-annual dividend on Monday, April 21st, Wall Street Journal reports. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 17th will be given a dividend of 0.1992 per share by the financial services provider on Monday, July 7th. This represents a dividend yield of 5.3%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 17th. This is a 15.6% increase from Aegon’s previous semi-annual dividend of $0.17.

Aegon has a payout ratio of 40.0% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Analysts expect Aegon to earn $1.02 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $0.40 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 39.2%.

Aegon Stock Performance

Aegon stock opened at $6.93 on Friday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $6.67 and its 200 day moving average price is $6.42. The stock has a market capitalization of $15.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.21 and a beta of 0.92. Aegon has a 1 year low of $5.42 and a 1 year high of $7.32.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in AEG. Acadian Asset Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Aegon by 20.0% in the 1st quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 142,277 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $936,000 after acquiring an additional 23,670 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its position in Aegon by 16.3% during the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 75,569 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $498,000 after purchasing an additional 10,591 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised its stake in Aegon by 2.1% during the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 77,076 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $507,000 after purchasing an additional 1,551 shares during the period. 4.32% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AEG has been the topic of a number of research reports. BNP Paribas Exane raised shares of Aegon from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. BNP Paribas raised Aegon from a “hold” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Aegon from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 13th. Finally, Berenberg Bank raised shares of Aegon to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 29th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy”.

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.