Confluence Wealth Services Inc. Acquires 3,018 Shares of Voya Financial, Inc. (NYSE:VOYA)

Confluence Wealth Services Inc. lifted its stake in Voya Financial, Inc. (NYSE:VOYA) by 28.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 13,805 shares of the asset manager’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,018 shares during the quarter. Confluence Wealth Services Inc.’s holdings in Voya Financial were worth $966,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. FMR LLC increased its stake in Voya Financial by 25.9% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,884,044 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $228,474,000 after purchasing an additional 592,523 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its holdings in shares of Voya Financial by 1.5% during the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 2,678,016 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $212,152,000 after buying an additional 38,438 shares during the last quarter. Hennessy Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Voya Financial during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $47,155,000. Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in Voya Financial by 12.2% in the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 316,447 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $25,069,000 after acquiring an additional 34,413 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Retirement Systems of Alabama raised its holdings in Voya Financial by 8.2% in the 3rd quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama now owns 272,339 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $21,575,000 after acquiring an additional 20,750 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.10% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have commented on the company. Bank of America reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $83.00 target price (down previously from $91.00) on shares of Voya Financial in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on Voya Financial from $87.00 to $82.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Wells Fargo & Company restated an “equal weight” rating and set a $76.00 target price (down previously from $87.00) on shares of Voya Financial in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Evercore ISI reduced their price target on shares of Voya Financial from $94.00 to $89.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of Voya Financial from $79.00 to $75.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Voya Financial presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $82.18.

Voya Financial Stock Up 5.6 %

Shares of VOYA stock opened at $72.23 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 0.31, a quick ratio of 0.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54. Voya Financial, Inc. has a 12 month low of $63.11 and a 12 month high of $84.30. The stock has a market cap of $6.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.50, a P/E/G ratio of 0.49 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $71.24 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $74.10.

Voya Financial (NYSE:VOYA) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 15.09% and a net margin of 8.81%. On average, research analysts expect that Voya Financial, Inc. will post 7.11 earnings per share for the current year.

Voya Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 27th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 25th will be given a dividend of $0.45 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 25th. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.49%. Voya Financial’s payout ratio is currently 28.66%.

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.