Voya Financial, Inc. $VOYA Holdings Trimmed by M&G PLC

M&G PLC trimmed its stake in shares of Voya Financial, Inc. (NYSE:VOYA) by 16.6% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 152,530 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 30,255 shares during the quarter. M&G PLC’s holdings in Voya Financial were worth $14,338,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Danske Bank A S bought a new stake in Voya Financial in the second quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Voya Financial during the second quarter valued at approximately $48,000. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its holdings in shares of Voya Financial by 29.6% in the third quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 696 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $66,000 after purchasing an additional 159 shares during the last quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Voya Financial in the third quarter worth $70,000. Finally, Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC purchased a new position in shares of Voya Financial in the second quarter worth $84,000. 96.10% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

VOYA has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Voya Financial from $125.00 to $127.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 6th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Voya Financial from $92.00 to $105.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, August 24th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of Voya Financial from $104.00 to $102.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, October 12th. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price target on shares of Voya Financial from $107.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 6th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised shares of Voya Financial from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 29th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Voya Financial currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $103.69.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Trevor Ogle sold 2,093 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, October 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $95.81, for a total value of $200,530.33. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 1.57% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Voya Financial Stock Performance

VOYA stock opened at $104.43 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $9.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 0.85. Voya Financial, Inc. has a 1 year low of $64.50 and a 1 year high of $106.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a current ratio of 0.27 and a quick ratio of 0.27. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $98.71 and its 200-day moving average price is $87.11.

Voya Financial (NYSE:VOYA) last announced its earnings results on Monday, November 2nd. The asset manager reported $2.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.59 by $0.01. Voya Financial had a net margin of 7.75% and a return on equity of 12.67%. The company had revenue of $1.94 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.96 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.45 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 4.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts forecast that Voya Financial, Inc. will post 9.16 earnings per share for the current year.

Voya Financial Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 29th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, November 24th will be given a dividend of $0.57 per share. This represents a $2.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, November 24th. This is a positive change from Voya Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.47. Voya Financial’s payout ratio is presently 36.66%.

Voya Financial Profile

Voya Financial, Inc. is a U.S.-based financial services company focused on workplace benefits, retirement plans and investment management. It serves employers, plan sponsors, institutions and individuals, primarily in the United States. The company provides workplace retirement savings plans and related services, along with employee benefits such as group life, disability and supplemental health coverage. Through its investment management business, Voya offers investment strategies and services to institutional and individual clients.