Fifth Third Bancorp Increases Holdings in Voya Financial, Inc. $VOYA

Key Points

• Fifth Third Bancorp dramatically increased its Voya Financial stake in the first quarter, lifting holdings by 4,892.7% to 63,058 shares worth about $4.31 million.
• Analysts are generally constructive on VOYA, with a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $97.69; several firms recently raised targets, including RBC and Keefe, Bruyette & Woods.
• Voya’s latest results were solid: it reported $2.26 EPS, beating estimates, while revenue rose 3.1% year over year; the stock was also trading near its 52-week high at $99.76.

Fifth Third Bancorp lifted its stake in shares of Voya Financial, Inc. (NYSE:VOYA - Free Report) by 4,892.7% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 63,058 shares of the asset manager's stock after purchasing an additional 61,795 shares during the quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp owned 0.07% of Voya Financial worth $4,308,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Allworth Financial LP lifted its holdings in shares of Voya Financial by 75.5% in the third quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 351 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 151 shares in the last quarter. Atlas Capital Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in Voya Financial during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. V Square Quantitative Management LLC bought a new stake in Voya Financial during the 4th quarter worth approximately $33,000. Systematic Financial Management LP bought a new stake in Voya Financial during the 4th quarter worth approximately $37,000. Finally, Root Financial Partners LLC lifted its stake in Voya Financial by 59.6% in the 1st quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC now owns 573 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 214 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.10% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have commented on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price target on shares of Voya Financial from $91.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, July 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Voya Financial from $89.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on Voya Financial from $89.00 to $88.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, May 26th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on Voya Financial from $92.00 to $109.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, July 13th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on Voya Financial from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, July 10th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $97.69.

Voya Financial Stock Performance

NYSE VOYA opened at $99.76 on Friday. Voya Financial, Inc. has a 52-week low of $64.50 and a 52-week high of $103.85. The company has a fifty day moving average of $88.73 and a 200-day moving average of $78.68. The company has a market capitalization of $9.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.07, a P/E/G ratio of 0.91 and a beta of 0.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a current ratio of 0.27.

Voya Financial (NYSE:VOYA - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The asset manager reported $2.26 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.02 by $0.24. Voya Financial had a return on equity of 13.84% and a net margin of 8.24%.The business had revenue of $1.93 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.98 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.00 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 3.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Voya Financial, Inc. will post 9.4 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Voya Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 26th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 26th were given a dividend of $0.47 per share. This represents a $1.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, May 26th. Voya Financial's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 28.40%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Trevor Ogle sold 3,994 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 2,887 shares in the company, valued at approximately $259,830. The trade was a 58.04% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 1.57% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.

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