Meritage Portfolio Management Increases Position in Voya Financial, Inc. (NYSE:VOYA)

Meritage Portfolio Management increased its holdings in Voya Financial, Inc. (NYSE:VOYA) by 1.9% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 14,030 shares of the asset manager’s stock after acquiring an additional 261 shares during the period. Meritage Portfolio Management’s holdings in Voya Financial were worth $951,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Jones Financial Companies Lllp raised its stake in shares of Voya Financial by 81.0% during the 4th quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 409 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 183 shares during the period. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. increased its stake in shares of Voya Financial by 207.0% during the 4th quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 485 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 327 shares during the last quarter. Quarry LP bought a new stake in shares of Voya Financial in the 4th quarter worth approximately $37,000. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its stake in Voya Financial by 666.4% in the first quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 889 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $60,000 after purchasing an additional 773 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. grew its holdings in Voya Financial by 36.9% during the first quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 950 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $64,000 after purchasing an additional 256 shares during the period. 96.10% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on Voya Financial from $81.00 to $80.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Voya Financial from $69.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, May 8th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on Voya Financial from $80.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 13th. Bank of America reaffirmed an “underperform” rating and set a $71.00 target price (down previously from $79.00) on shares of Voya Financial in a report on Friday, March 28th. Finally, Barclays set a $70.00 price target on shares of Voya Financial in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $82.08.

Voya Financial Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:VOYA opened at $72.90 on Friday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $66.67 and its 200-day moving average price is $67.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a current ratio of 0.28 and a quick ratio of 0.28. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.75, a PEG ratio of 0.65 and a beta of 1.00. Voya Financial, Inc. has a one year low of $52.43 and a one year high of $84.30.

Voya Financial (NYSE:VOYA) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 6th. The asset manager reported $2.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.59 by $0.56. The firm had revenue of $1.97 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.94 billion. Voya Financial had a return on equity of 14.05% and a net margin of 7.18%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.77 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Voya Financial, Inc. will post 8.39 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Voya Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 26th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 27th were issued a $0.45 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, May 27th. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.47%. Voya Financial’s payout ratio is 33.96%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Yvette S. Butler sold 1,700 shares of Voya Financial stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.18, for a total value of $112,506.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 355 shares in the company, valued at $23,493.90. This trade represents a 82.73% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.99% of the company’s stock.

About Voya Financial

Voya Financial, Inc engages in the provision of workplace benefits and savings products in the United States and internationally. The company operates through three segments: Wealth Solutions, Health Solutions, and Investment Management. The Wealth Solutions segment offers full-service retirement products; recordkeeping services; stable value and fixed general account investment products; non-qualified plan administration services; and tools, guidance, and services to promote the financial well-being and retirement security of employees.