Kennedy Capital Management LLC Purchases 2,659 Shares of Voya Financial, Inc. (NYSE:VOYA)

Kennedy Capital Management LLC raised its position in Voya Financial, Inc. (NYSE:VOYA) by 5.7% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 49,310 shares of the asset manager’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,659 shares during the quarter. Kennedy Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Voya Financial were worth $3,645,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in Voya Financial by 6.2% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 11,067,291 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $818,094,000 after purchasing an additional 644,216 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its position in Voya Financial by 1,020.2% in the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 2,368,185 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $175,057,000 after purchasing an additional 2,156,773 shares during the last quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale raised its position in Voya Financial by 2.5% in the fourth quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 1,610,199 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $115,621,000 after purchasing an additional 40,000 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in Voya Financial in the fourth quarter valued at about $80,749,000. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in Voya Financial by 2.8% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 681,329 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $49,710,000 after purchasing an additional 18,316 shares during the last quarter. 96.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Voya Financial Trading Up 0.9 %

NYSE VOYA traded up $0.68 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $74.31. 1,029,086 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 829,107. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $72.76 and a 200 day simple moving average of $71.29. Voya Financial, Inc. has a 1-year low of $63.02 and a 1-year high of $76.75. The firm has a market cap of $7.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.62, a PEG ratio of 0.53 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a current ratio of 0.30, a quick ratio of 0.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51.

Voya Financial (NYSE:VOYA) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The asset manager reported $1.88 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.58 by $0.30. Voya Financial had a return on equity of 16.74% and a net margin of 10.48%. The business had revenue of $2.05 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.80 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.69 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 11.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that Voya Financial, Inc. will post 8.42 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Voya Financial Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 26th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 27th will be paid a $0.45 dividend. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.42%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, August 27th. This is a boost from Voya Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. Voya Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 22.73%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Voya Financial

In other Voya Financial news, Director Yvette S. Butler sold 2,165 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $73.78, for a total value of $159,733.70. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 1.37% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

VOYA has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Citigroup raised their price objective on Voya Financial from $86.00 to $91.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Bank of America raised their price objective on Voya Financial from $80.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 11th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Voya Financial from $91.00 to $92.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, May 10th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on Voya Financial from $78.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 18th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Voya Financial from $85.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 2nd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $84.30.

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.