AlphaQuest LLC Buys 28,836 Shares of Voya Financial, Inc. $VOYA

Key Points

• AlphaQuest LLC significantly increased its stake in Voya Financial, purchasing an additional 28,836 shares, raising its ownership to 31,962 shares valued at approximately $2.17 million.
• Voya Financial recently reported a quarterly earnings of $2.40 per share, exceeding estimates by $0.31, although its revenue saw a 2.6% year-over-year decline.
• The company will pay a quarterly dividend of $0.45 on September 26, with an annual yield of 2.4% and a payout ratio of 36%.

AlphaQuest LLC increased its holdings in Voya Financial, Inc. (NYSE:VOYA - Free Report) by 922.5% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 31,962 shares of the asset manager's stock after buying an additional 28,836 shares during the period. AlphaQuest LLC's holdings in Voya Financial were worth $2,166,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Quarry LP purchased a new position in shares of Voya Financial during the 4th quarter worth approximately $37,000. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S purchased a new position in shares of Voya Financial during the 1st quarter worth approximately $47,000. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its stake in shares of Voya Financial by 666.4% during the 1st quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 889 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $60,000 after purchasing an additional 773 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. increased its stake in shares of Voya Financial by 36.9% during the 1st quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 950 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $64,000 after purchasing an additional 256 shares in the last quarter. Finally, LRI Investments LLC boosted its position in Voya Financial by 26.1% during the fourth quarter. LRI Investments LLC now owns 1,310 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $90,000 after acquiring an additional 271 shares during the last quarter. 96.10% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have weighed in on VOYA. UBS Group boosted their price target on Voya Financial from $87.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 6th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on shares of Voya Financial from $80.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 13th. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Voya Financial from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, July 7th. Evercore ISI increased their price target on shares of Voya Financial from $84.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 13th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Voya Financial from $76.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Voya Financial presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $83.70.

Voya Financial Stock Up 0.5%

Shares of VOYA stock traded up $0.41 on Wednesday, hitting $76.30. The stock had a trading volume of 153,820 shares, compared to its average volume of 926,798. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.26, a P/E/G ratio of 0.61 and a beta of 0.99. The stock's 50 day moving average is $71.73 and its 200-day moving average is $67.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44, a quick ratio of 0.28 and a current ratio of 0.28. Voya Financial, Inc. has a 52-week low of $52.43 and a 52-week high of $84.30.

Voya Financial (NYSE:VOYA - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, August 5th. The asset manager reported $2.40 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.09 by $0.31. The company had revenue of $1.98 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.94 billion. Voya Financial had a net margin of 6.73% and a return on equity of 13.72%. The firm's revenue was down 2.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.18 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that Voya Financial, Inc. will post 8.39 earnings per share for the current year.

Voya Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 26th. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 26th will be given a $0.45 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, August 26th. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.4%. Voya Financial's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 36.00%.

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.