BlackRock Inc. Acquires New Stake in Voya Financial, Inc. $VOYA

Key Points

• BlackRock acquired 9.39 million Voya Financial shares in the second quarter, worth approximately $850.2 million, giving it a 10.36% stake. Institutional investors collectively own 96.1% of VOYA.
• Voya’s latest quarterly earnings fell short of expectations, with adjusted EPS of $1.51 versus the $1.98 consensus estimate and revenue down 4.3% year over year to $1.88 billion.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.47 per share, equivalent to $1.88 annually and a 1.9% yield. Analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating with an average price target of $102.85.

BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Voya Financial, Inc. (NYSE:VOYA - Free Report) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 9,391,218 shares of the asset manager's stock, valued at approximately $850,187,000. BlackRock Inc. owned 10.36% of Voya Financial at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Allworth Financial LP raised its stake in Voya Financial by 75.5% in the 3rd quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 351 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 151 shares during the period. Atlas Capital Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in Voya Financial during the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. Systematic Financial Management LP bought a new position in Voya Financial during the fourth quarter worth about $37,000. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. bought a new position in Voya Financial during the second quarter worth about $48,000. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Voya Financial by 625.0% in the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 551 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 475 shares in the last quarter. 96.10% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Voya Financial

In other news, insider Trevor Ogle sold 3,994 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, June 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $90.00, for a total value of $359,460.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 2,887 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $259,830. This represents a 58.04% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders own 1.57% of the company's stock.

Voya Financial Price Performance

VOYA stock opened at $97.74 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $96.73 and a 200-day moving average of $82.74. The company has a current ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51. Voya Financial, Inc. has a 12 month low of $64.50 and a 12 month high of $103.85. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 0.89.

Voya Financial (NYSE:VOYA - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The asset manager reported $1.51 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.98 by ($0.47). Voya Financial had a return on equity of 12.31% and a net margin of 7.45%.The firm had revenue of $1.88 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.90 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.66 EPS. The business's revenue was down 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Voya Financial, Inc. will post 9.27 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Voya Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 28th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, August 26th will be issued a $0.47 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, August 26th. This represents a $1.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.9%. Voya Financial's dividend payout ratio is presently 31.70%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

VOYA has been the topic of several research reports. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Voya Financial from $98.00 to $105.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 7th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on shares of Voya Financial from $109.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 11th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on shares of Voya Financial from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, July 10th. Evercore reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $111.00 target price on shares of Voya Financial in a report on Friday, August 7th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Voya Financial from $84.00 to $92.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 21st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have assigned a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Voya Financial currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $102.85.

Voya Financial Company Profile

Voya Financial, Inc NYSE: VOYA is a financial services company headquartered in New York City, focused on helping Americans plan, invest and protect their savings. The company traces its roots to the U.S. operations of ING Group, which were spun off in 2013 and rebranded as Voya Financial in 2014. Voya's operations are built around a customer-centric approach, drawing on decades of experience in retirement planning and risk management to serve both individual and institutional clients.

Voya's core business activities span three key segments: Retirement, Investment Management and Employee Benefits.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.

Continue following MarketBeat

Add MarketBeat as your preferred source on Google to see our latest stories in your feed.

Add As Preferred Source