Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P. Grows Stake in Voya Financial, Inc. (NYSE:VOYA)

Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P. grew its holdings in Voya Financial, Inc. (NYSE:VOYA) by 4.1% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 31,739 shares of the asset manager’s stock after buying an additional 1,239 shares during the period. Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P.’s holdings in Voya Financial were worth $2,185,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of VOYA. Quest Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Voya Financial in the 3rd quarter valued at about $322,000. Advisors Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Voya Financial by 52.2% in the 3rd quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 11,580 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $917,000 after acquiring an additional 3,970 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its position in shares of Voya Financial by 1.5% in the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 2,678,016 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $212,152,000 after buying an additional 38,438 shares during the period. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in Voya Financial by 15.2% in the 3rd quarter. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC now owns 28,609 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $2,266,000 after acquiring an additional 3,782 shares during the period. Finally, Algert Global LLC increased its stake in Voya Financial by 5.5% during the 3rd quarter. Algert Global LLC now owns 42,473 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $3,365,000 after buying an additional 2,230 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.10% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Morgan Stanley raised shares of Voya Financial from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $76.00 to $87.00 in a report on Friday, February 28th. Bank of America reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $83.00 price target (down previously from $91.00) on shares of Voya Financial in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Evercore ISI lowered their target price on Voya Financial from $94.00 to $89.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price target on shares of Voya Financial from $90.00 to $84.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada cut their price objective on Voya Financial from $90.00 to $85.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $83.55.

Voya Financial Stock Down 0.9 %

Shares of Voya Financial stock opened at $67.77 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $6.47 billion, a PE ratio of 11.07, a P/E/G ratio of 0.48 and a beta of 1.03. Voya Financial, Inc. has a 52-week low of $64.10 and a 52-week high of $84.30. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $70.43 and its 200 day simple moving average is $74.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a quick ratio of 0.31 and a current ratio of 0.30.

Voya Financial (NYSE:VOYA) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The asset manager reported $1.50 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.15 by ($0.65). Voya Financial had a return on equity of 14.10% and a net margin of 8.29%. On average, analysts predict 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 Thursday, March 27th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 25th will be issued a $0.45 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 25th. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.66%. Voya Financial’s dividend payout ratio is presently 29.41%.

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.