Swiss National Bank Cuts Stock Holdings in Voya Financial, Inc. (NYSE:VOYA)

Swiss National Bank lessened its holdings in Voya Financial, Inc. (NYSE:VOYA) by 3.6% in the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 186,400 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 7,000 shares during the quarter. Swiss National Bank’s holdings in Voya Financial were worth $12,630,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Quarry LP purchased a new position in Voya Financial during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its position in shares of Voya Financial by 666.4% during the first quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 889 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $60,000 after buying an additional 773 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Voya Financial by 36.9% in the 1st quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 950 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $64,000 after buying an additional 256 shares in the last quarter. LRI Investments LLC grew its position in shares of Voya Financial by 26.1% in the 4th quarter. LRI Investments LLC now owns 1,310 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $90,000 after buying an additional 271 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bessemer Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Voya Financial by 142.9% in the 1st quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 1,343 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $91,000 after buying an additional 790 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.10% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Yvette S. Butler sold 1,700 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.18, for a total value of $112,506.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 355 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $23,493.90. This represents a 82.73% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.99% of the company’s stock.

Voya Financial Stock Performance

Shares of VOYA opened at $74.98 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44, a quick ratio of 0.28 and a current ratio of 0.28. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $70.50 and a two-hundred day moving average of $67.73. The stock has a market cap of $7.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.00, a P/E/G ratio of 0.69 and a beta of 0.99. Voya Financial, Inc. has a one year low of $52.43 and a one year high of $84.30.

Voya Financial (NYSE:VOYA) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, August 5th. The asset manager reported $2.40 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.09 by $0.31. The firm 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 company’s revenue was down 2.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.18 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that Voya Financial, Inc. will post 8.39 EPS for the current year.

Voya Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 26th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 26th will be paid a dividend of $0.45 per share. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, August 26th. Voya Financial’s payout ratio is presently 36.00%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently commented on VOYA. Barclays increased 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 report on Monday, July 7th. UBS Group increased their price objective on Voya Financial from $87.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 6th. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on Voya Financial from $84.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Voya Financial from $80.00 to $89.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on Voya Financial from $80.00 to $83.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 13th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $83.40.

Voya Financial Company 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.