WBI Investments LLC Makes New Investment in Voya Financial, Inc. $VOYA

Key Points

• WBI Investments LLC has acquired 3,402 shares of Voya Financial, Inc., valued at approximately $231,000, reflecting a growing interest from institutional investors in the company.
• Brokerage firms are bullish on Voya Financial, with multiple reports raising target prices, the highest being from Morgan Stanley at $90.00, and a consensus target price of $83.70 among analysts.
• Voya Financial recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.45 per share, yielding 2.3%, with a dividend payout ratio of 36.00%.

WBI Investments LLC acquired a new position in shares of Voya Financial, Inc. (NYSE:VOYA - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 3,402 shares of the asset manager's stock, valued at approximately $231,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Westbourne Investments Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Voya Financial during the first quarter worth about $929,000. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Voya Financial by 44.0% during the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 730 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $49,000 after acquiring an additional 223 shares during the last quarter. Jane Street Group LLC increased its position in shares of Voya Financial by 247.1% during the first quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 190,035 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $12,877,000 after acquiring an additional 135,292 shares during the last quarter. SageView Advisory Group LLC increased its position in shares of Voya Financial by 31.7% during the first quarter. SageView Advisory Group LLC now owns 6,438 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $436,000 after acquiring an additional 1,550 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bayforest Capital Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Voya Financial during the first quarter worth about $160,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.10% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on VOYA. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Voya Financial from $89.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, August 18th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Voya Financial from $80.00 to $89.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on Voya Financial from $84.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 13th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price objective on Voya Financial from $80.00 to $87.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 19th. Six equities research 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, Voya Financial presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $83.70.

Voya Financial Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE VOYA opened at $76.64 on Friday. 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 has a 50 day simple moving average of $73.19 and a 200-day simple moving average of $68.15. The company has a market cap of $7.39 billion, a PE ratio of 15.33, a P/E/G ratio of 0.60 and a beta of 1.00. 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 quarterly earnings data 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. The business had revenue of $1.98 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.94 billion. Voya Financial had a return on equity of 13.72% and a net margin of 6.73%.The business's revenue was down 2.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.18 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Voya Financial, Inc. will post 8.39 EPS for the current year.

Voya Financial Announces Dividend

The company 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 $0.45 dividend. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, August 26th. Voya Financial's dividend payout ratio is 36.00%.

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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