Weiss Asset Management LP Decreases Stock Holdings in Voya Financial, Inc. $VOYA

Weiss Asset Management LP lowered its holdings in shares of Voya Financial, Inc. (NYSE:VOYA) by 74.4% in the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 8,155 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 23,672 shares during the quarter. Weiss Asset Management LP’s holdings in Voya Financial were worth $557,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its position in shares of Voya Financial by 5.4% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 4,492,908 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $334,677,000 after buying an additional 230,877 shares in the last quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC grew its position in Voya Financial by 1.3% in the first quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC now owns 3,673,118 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $250,947,000 after acquiring an additional 46,906 shares in the last quarter. Boston Partners increased its stake in Voya Financial by 1.8% during the fourth quarter. Boston Partners now owns 3,557,281 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $265,363,000 after acquiring an additional 61,962 shares during the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its position in Voya Financial by 6.8% during the second quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 3,418,536 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $242,716,000 after purchasing an additional 219,130 shares during the period. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its stake in shares of Voya Financial by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 2,706,354 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $201,596,000 after purchasing an additional 44,053 shares during the last quarter. 96.10% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

VOYA has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on Voya Financial from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, July 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Voya Financial from $88.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 21st. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Voya Financial from $98.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 7th. UBS Group increased their price target on Voya Financial from $95.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, July 10th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on Voya Financial from $92.00 to $109.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, July 13th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have assigned a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $100.15.

Insider Activity at Voya Financial

In other news, insider Trevor Ogle sold 3,994 shares of Voya Financial stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $90.00, for a total transaction of $359,460.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 2,887 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $259,830. The trade was a 58.04% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Company insiders own 1.57% of the company’s stock.

Voya Financial Trading Up 0.4%

VOYA stock opened at $98.96 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $8.97 billion, a PE ratio of 14.95, a P/E/G ratio of 0.91 and a beta of 0.91. Voya Financial, Inc. has a 12 month low of $64.50 and a 12 month high of $103.85. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $90.78 and its 200 day moving average is $79.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 0.27 and a quick ratio of 0.27.

Voya Financial (NYSE:VOYA) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 5th. The asset manager reported $2.26 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.02 by $0.24. The company had revenue of $1.93 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.98 billion. Voya Financial had a net margin of 8.24% and a return on equity of 13.84%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.00 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Voya Financial, Inc. will post 9.32 EPS for the current year.

Voya Financial Company Profile

Voya Financial, Inc (NYSE: VOYA) is a financial services company headquartered in New York City, focused on helping Americans plan, invest and protect their savings. The company traces its roots to the U.S. operations of ING Group, which were spun off in 2013 and rebranded as Voya Financial in 2014. Voya’s operations are built around a customer-centric approach, drawing on decades of experience in retirement planning and risk management to serve both individual and institutional clients.

Voya’s core business activities span three key segments: Retirement, Investment Management and Employee Benefits.