Voya Financial, Inc. $VOYA Shares Sold by Northern Trust Corp

Key Points

• Northern Trust Corp reduced its stake in Voya Financial by 29.7% in the first quarter, now holding approximately 939,155 shares valued at $63.6 million.
• Other institutional investors have increased their stakes in Voya Financial, with Kelly Financial Group LLC purchasing new shares worth about $270.7 million during the same period.
• Analysts have raised their price targets for Voya Financial, with an average target of $83.70, indicating a generally optimistic outlook despite a small decline in year-over-year revenue.

Northern Trust Corp lowered its position in shares of Voya Financial, Inc. (NYSE:VOYA - Free Report) by 29.7% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 939,155 shares of the asset manager's stock after selling 396,308 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp owned about 0.98% of Voya Financial worth $63,637,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in VOYA. Marshall Wace LLP acquired a new stake in shares of Voya Financial during the fourth quarter worth about $677,000. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC boosted its stake in shares of Voya Financial by 218.8% during the fourth quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 8,424 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $580,000 after buying an additional 5,782 shares during the period. Oxford Asset Management LLP acquired a new stake in shares of Voya Financial during the fourth quarter worth about $290,000. Aquatic Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Voya Financial during the fourth quarter worth about $3,324,000. Finally, Quarry LP acquired a new stake in shares of Voya Financial during the fourth quarter worth about $37,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.10% of the company's stock.

Voya Financial Stock Performance

Shares of Voya Financial stock traded up $0.12 on Friday, reaching $75.15. 824,148 shares of the stock 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 company has a current ratio of 0.28, a quick ratio of 0.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $72.25 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $67.95. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.25 billion, a PE ratio of 15.03, a PEG ratio of 0.60 and a beta of 1.00.

Voya Financial (NYSE:VOYA - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 5th. The asset manager reported $2.40 earnings per share (EPS) 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 business had revenue of $1.98 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.94 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.18 earnings per share. The business's revenue was down 2.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Voya Financial, Inc. will post 8.39 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Voya Financial Dividend Announcement

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Barclays increased their target price 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Voya Financial from $80.00 to $89.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price 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. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Voya Financial from $89.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, August 18th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price 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. Six investment 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. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $83.70.

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.