Basswood Capital Management L.L.C. Takes $10.55 Million Position in Voya Financial, Inc. $VOYA

Basswood Capital Management L.L.C. bought a new position in shares of Voya Financial, Inc. (NYSE:VOYA) during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 116,511 shares of the asset manager’s stock, valued at approximately $10,548,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Royal Bank of Canada grew its holdings in Voya Financial by 21.7% during the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 84,715 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $5,741,000 after purchasing an additional 15,091 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its stake in Voya Financial by 8.4% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 662,058 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $44,861,000 after buying an additional 51,376 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its position in shares of Voya Financial by 13.5% in the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 37,836 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $2,564,000 after buying an additional 4,490 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC boosted its stake in shares of Voya Financial by 1.7% during the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 370,144 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $25,081,000 after acquiring an additional 6,127 shares during the period. Finally, Geneos Wealth Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Voya Financial by 44.0% during the 1st quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 730 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $49,000 after acquiring an additional 223 shares during the period. 96.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Voya Financial Stock Performance

NYSE VOYA opened at $101.62 on Thursday. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $97.30 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $83.35. Voya Financial, Inc. has a 12-month low of $64.50 and a 12-month high of $103.85. The company has a market capitalization of $9.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.14, a P/E/G ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 0.89. The company has a quick ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 0.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51.

Voya Financial (NYSE:VOYA) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The asset manager reported $1.51 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.98 by ($0.47). Voya Financial had a return on equity of 12.31% and a net margin of 7.45%.The business had revenue of $1.88 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.90 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.66 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that Voya Financial, Inc. will post 9.25 earnings per share for the current year.

Voya Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 28th. Investors of record on Wednesday, August 26th will be given a dividend of $0.47 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, August 26th. This represents a $1.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.9%. Voya Financial’s dividend payout ratio is currently 31.70%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Voya Financial news, insider Trevor Ogle sold 3,994 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.00, for a total transaction of $359,460.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 2,887 shares in the company, valued at $259,830. This trade represents a 58.04% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 1.57% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently weighed in on VOYA. Evercore reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $111.00 target price on shares of Voya Financial in a report on Friday, August 7th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on shares of Voya Financial from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, July 10th. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price objective on shares of Voya Financial from $107.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, August 6th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on shares of Voya Financial from $109.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 11th. Finally, 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 research note on Tuesday, July 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $103.85.

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.