Voya Financial (NYSE:VOYA) Price Target Lowered to $75.00 at Morgan Stanley

Voya Financial (NYSE:VOYA) had its price target trimmed by Morgan Stanley from $76.00 to $75.00 in a report issued on Monday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an equal weight rating on the asset manager’s stock.

A number of other analysts also recently weighed in on the stock. Citigroup upped their price target on shares of Voya Financial from $86.00 to $91.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Bank of America upped their price objective on shares of 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 lowered their price objective on shares of Voya Financial from $91.00 to $87.00 and set an overweight rating for the company in a research report on Monday, August 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on shares of Voya Financial from $88.00 to $87.00 and set an overweight rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on shares of Voya Financial from $78.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a hold rating in a research report on Thursday, July 18th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Voya Financial currently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $83.40.

Voya Financial Stock Performance

Shares of Voya Financial stock opened at $67.99 on Monday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $70.72 and a 200-day moving average of $70.87. Voya Financial has a 1-year low of $63.02 and a 1-year high of $76.75. The company has a current ratio of 0.30, a quick ratio of 0.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51. The company has a market cap of $6.85 billion, a PE ratio of 9.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.46 and a beta of 1.05.

Voya Financial (NYSE:VOYA) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The asset manager reported $2.27 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.14 by $0.13. Voya Financial had a net margin of 10.87% and a return on equity of 16.11%. The company had revenue of $2.03 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.87 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.31 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 8.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Voya Financial will post 8.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Voya Financial Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 26th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 27th will be given a $0.45 dividend. This is a boost from Voya Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.65%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, August 27th. Voya Financial’s dividend payout ratio is 25.57%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Voya Financial

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Voya Financial

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Hohimer Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of Voya Financial by 1.7% during the first quarter. Hohimer Wealth Management LLC now owns 8,452 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $625,000 after buying an additional 140 shares during the period. Signaturefd LLC increased its position in shares of Voya Financial by 2.9% during the fourth quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 5,156 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $376,000 after buying an additional 147 shares during the period. SYSTM Wealth Solutions LLC increased its position in shares of Voya Financial by 56.2% during the first quarter. SYSTM Wealth Solutions LLC now owns 414 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 149 shares during the period. Arjuna Capital increased its position in shares of Voya Financial by 0.8% during the second quarter. Arjuna Capital now owns 19,685 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $1,401,000 after buying an additional 161 shares during the period. Finally, Panagora Asset Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Voya Financial by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc. now owns 13,115 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $957,000 after buying an additional 169 shares during the period. 96.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.