Handelsbanken Fonder AB Lowers Holdings in Voya Financial, Inc. $VOYA

Handelsbanken Fonder AB decreased its holdings in shares of Voya Financial, Inc. (NYSE:VOYA) by 3.5% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 24,800 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 900 shares during the quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB’s holdings in Voya Financial were worth $1,761,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. IFP Advisors Inc increased its position in shares of Voya Financial by 225.6% during the 2nd quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 433 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares during the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its position in shares of Voya Financial by 149.2% during the second quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 481 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 288 shares during the last quarter. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S purchased a new stake in shares of Voya Financial in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $47,000. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Voya Financial by 44.0% in the 1st quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 730 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $49,000 after acquiring an additional 223 shares during the period. Finally, Quarry LP lifted its holdings in shares of Voya Financial by 205.7% in the 1st quarter. Quarry LP now owns 1,651 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $112,000 after acquiring an additional 1,111 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.10% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Voya Financial from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, November 16th. Barclays lifted their price objective on Voya Financial from $81.00 to $83.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on Voya Financial from $83.00 to $80.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 7th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Voya Financial in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada cut their price target on shares of Voya Financial from $87.00 to $85.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, November 19th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $84.30.

Voya Financial Trading Down 0.2%

VOYA opened at $70.63 on Thursday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $73.18 and a 200 day moving average price of $71.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a current ratio of 0.27 and a quick ratio of 0.27. Voya Financial, Inc. has a 12 month low of $52.43 and a 12 month high of $83.58. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.14, a PEG ratio of 0.51 and a beta of 0.99.

Voya Financial (NYSE:VOYA) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 4th. The asset manager reported $2.45 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.22 by $0.23. Voya Financial had a return on equity of 13.89% and a net margin of 7.55%.The company had revenue of $1.94 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.97 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.12 EPS. Voya Financial’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts expect that Voya Financial, Inc. will post 8.39 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Voya Financial Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 29th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, November 26th will be issued a dividend of $0.47 per share. This is a boost from Voya Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, November 26th. This represents a $1.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.7%. Voya Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 30.93%.

Voya Financial Profile

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.