Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund Boosts Stake in Voya Financial, Inc. (NYSE:VOYA)

Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund raised its position in shares of Voya Financial, Inc. (NYSE:VOYA - Free Report) by 29.8% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 59,785 shares of the asset manager's stock after acquiring an additional 13,712 shares during the period. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund owned approximately 0.06% of Voya Financial worth $4,051,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Bessemer Group Inc. grew its position in Voya Financial by 142.9% during the first quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 1,343 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $91,000 after acquiring an additional 790 shares during the period. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. grew its position in Voya Financial by 1.6% during the first quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 22,209 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $1,505,000 after acquiring an additional 360 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. grew its position in Voya Financial by 36.9% during the first quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 950 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $64,000 after acquiring an additional 256 shares during the period. State of Alaska Department of Revenue grew its position in Voya Financial by 2.7% during the first quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 11,271 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $763,000 after acquiring an additional 300 shares during the period. Finally, Inscription Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Voya Financial during the first quarter valued at about $457,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.10% of the company's stock.

Voya Financial Trading Up 0.8%

Shares of NYSE VOYA opened at $70.78 on Friday. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $65.46 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $67.01. Voya Financial, Inc. has a 52-week low of $52.43 and a 52-week high of $84.30. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.36, a PEG ratio of 0.59 and a beta of 0.99. The company has a quick ratio of 0.28, a current ratio of 0.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58.

Voya Financial (NYSE:VOYA - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 6th. The asset manager reported $2.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.59 by $0.56. Voya Financial had a return on equity of 14.05% and a net margin of 7.18%. The firm had revenue of $1.97 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.94 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.77 earnings per share. Voya Financial's revenue for the quarter was down 4.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts anticipate that Voya Financial, Inc. will post 8.39 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Voya Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 26th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 27th were paid a dividend of $0.45 per share. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.54%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, May 27th. Voya Financial's payout ratio is currently 33.96%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on Voya Financial from $81.00 to $80.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. UBS Group decreased their target price on Voya Financial from $89.00 to $88.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Voya Financial from $69.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 8th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on Voya Financial from $80.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 13th. Finally, Barclays set a $70.00 target price on Voya Financial in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $82.08.

Insider Buying and Selling at Voya Financial

In other Voya Financial news, Director Yvette S. Butler sold 1,700 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $66.18, for a total transaction of $112,506.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 355 shares in the company, valued at $23,493.90. This represents a 82.73% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.99% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.

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