Franklin Resources Inc. Decreases Position in Voya Financial, Inc. (NYSE:VOYA)

Franklin Resources Inc. decreased its stake in Voya Financial, Inc. (NYSE:VOYA) by 2.7% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 5,753,112 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 160,666 shares during the quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. owned about 5.98% of Voya Financial worth $466,175,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. CWM LLC boosted its stake in Voya Financial by 97.7% during the second quarter. CWM LLC now owns 2,456 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $175,000 after buying an additional 1,214 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC purchased a new position in shares of Voya Financial during the 2nd quarter worth about $196,000. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC grew its holdings in Voya Financial by 15.4% during the 2nd quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 11,496 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $818,000 after purchasing an additional 1,533 shares during the last quarter. Portman Square Capital LLP grew its holdings in Voya Financial by 103.5% during the 2nd quarter. Portman Square Capital LLP now owns 3,503 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $249,000 after purchasing an additional 103,903 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in Voya Financial by 68.6% in the 2nd quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 6,518 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $464,000 after purchasing an additional 2,653 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.10% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

VOYA has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada cut their target price on Voya Financial from $95.00 to $90.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut Voya Financial from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $87.00 price objective for the company. in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. Piper Sandler increased their target price on Voya Financial from $88.00 to $91.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their target price on Voya Financial from $95.00 to $92.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on shares of Voya Financial from $92.00 to $87.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $85.67.

Voya Financial Price Performance

Shares of VOYA opened at $69.83 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a quick ratio of 0.31 and a current ratio of 0.31. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $80.41 and a 200-day moving average price of $75.04. Voya Financial, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $63.11 and a fifty-two week high of $84.30. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.72 billion, a PE ratio of 11.12, a PEG ratio of 0.51 and a beta of 1.02.

Voya Financial (NYSE:VOYA) last posted its earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The asset manager reported $2.12 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.05 by $0.07. Voya Financial had a return on equity of 15.09% and a net margin of 8.81%. The company had revenue of $1.96 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.86 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.07 earnings per share. Voya Financial’s revenue was up 7.3% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts predict that Voya Financial, Inc. will post 8.24 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, December 26th. Investors of record on Tuesday, November 26th will be given a dividend of $0.45 per share. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.58%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, November 26th. Voya Financial’s payout ratio is currently 28.66%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Voya Financial

In related news, insider Tony D. Oh sold 715 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $81.95, for a total transaction of $58,594.25. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 1.37% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.