Vanguard Group Inc. Sells 198,821 Shares of Voya Financial, Inc. (NYSE:VOYA)

Key Points

• Vanguard Group Inc. has reduced its holdings in Voya Financial by 1.7%, selling 198,821 shares, and now owns 11,384,224 shares valued at approximately $771 million.
• Voya Financial posted earnings of $2.40 per share, exceeding analysts' estimates and reporting a revenue of $1.98 billion for the quarter.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.45, yielding 2.5%, with the ex-dividend date set for August 26th.

Vanguard Group Inc. cut its holdings in Voya Financial, Inc. (NYSE:VOYA - Free Report) by 1.7% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 11,384,224 shares of the asset manager's stock after selling 198,821 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. owned about 11.83% of Voya Financial worth $771,395,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. LPL Financial LLC boosted its stake in Voya Financial by 81.9% during the fourth quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 18,513 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $1,274,000 after buying an additional 8,333 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Voya Financial by 7.9% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 415,380 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $28,591,000 after acquiring an additional 30,357 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Voya Financial in the 4th quarter worth about $8,018,000. Sterling Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Voya Financial by 51.9% during the 4th quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 5,842 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $402,000 after purchasing an additional 1,995 shares during the period. Finally, SageView Advisory Group LLC bought a new position in Voya Financial during the 4th quarter valued at about $336,000. 96.10% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Voya Financial Stock Performance

Shares of Voya Financial stock opened at $72.89 on Wednesday. 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 stock's fifty day moving average price is $70.13 and its 200-day moving average price is $67.66. The firm has a market cap of $7.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.58, a P/E/G ratio of 0.65 and a beta of 0.99. Voya Financial, Inc. has a 12 month low of $52.43 and a 12 month high of $84.30.

Voya Financial (NYSE:VOYA - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, August 5th. The asset manager reported $2.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.94 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.18 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was down 2.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts expect that Voya Financial, Inc. will post 8.39 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Voya Financial Announces Dividend

The firm 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 of this dividend is Tuesday, August 26th. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.5%. Voya Financial's payout ratio is 36.00%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

VOYA has been the subject of several analyst reports. Morgan Stanley set a $89.00 price objective on shares of Voya Financial and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, July 14th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Voya Financial from $76.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on Voya Financial from $80.00 to $83.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 13th. UBS Group increased their target price on Voya Financial from $87.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 6th. Finally, Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Voya Financial from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, July 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Voya Financial presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $83.70.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Voya Financial news, Director Yvette S. Butler sold 1,700 shares of the company's stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the director owned 355 shares in the company, valued at $23,493.90. This represents a 82.73% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 1.37% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Voya Financial 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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