Ceredex Value Advisors LLC Buys Shares of 120,900 Voya Financial, Inc. $VOYA

Key Points

• Ceredex Value Advisors LLC has acquired a new position in Voya Financial, purchasing 120,900 shares, valued at approximately $8.2 million.
• Analysts have recently boosted their price targets for Voya Financial, with Barclays setting a new target at $75 and UBS Group raising it to $90, while the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" with an average target price of $83.70.
• Voya Financial announced a quarterly dividend of $0.45 per share, reflecting an annualized dividend yield of 2.4%.

Ceredex Value Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Voya Financial, Inc. (NYSE:VOYA - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 120,900 shares of the asset manager's stock, valued at approximately $8,192,000. Ceredex Value Advisors LLC owned approximately 0.13% of Voya Financial at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. FORA Capital LLC bought a new stake in Voya Financial during the first quarter worth approximately $894,000. Jane Street Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Voya Financial by 247.1% in the first quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 190,035 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $12,877,000 after buying an additional 135,292 shares during the last quarter. AlphaQuest LLC raised its holdings in Voya Financial by 922.5% in the 1st quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 31,962 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $2,166,000 after acquiring an additional 28,836 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its position in Voya Financial by 23.9% during the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 5,679,580 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $384,849,000 after acquiring an additional 1,095,190 shares during the last quarter. Finally, BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S bought a new stake in Voya Financial during the first quarter valued at about $47,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.10% of the company's stock.

Voya Financial Price Performance

NYSE VOYA traded up $0.12 on Monday, hitting $75.15. 824,148 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 823,607. Voya Financial, Inc. has a 1-year low of $52.43 and a 1-year high of $84.30. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $72.25 and a two-hundred day moving average of $67.95. The company has a current ratio of 0.28, a quick ratio of 0.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44. The company has a market cap of $7.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.03, a P/E/G ratio of 0.60 and a beta of 1.00.

Voya Financial (NYSE:VOYA - Get Free Report) last announced 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. Voya Financial had a net margin of 6.73% and a return on equity of 13.72%. The company had revenue of $1.98 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.94 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.18 earnings per share. The company's revenue was down 2.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts predict that Voya Financial, Inc. will post 8.39 EPS for the current year.

Voya Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 26th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 26th will be given a dividend of $0.45 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, August 26th. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.4%. Voya Financial's dividend payout ratio is presently 36.00%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

Voya Financial Company 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.