Wright Investors Service Inc. Buys 687 Shares of Voya Financial, Inc. (NYSE:VOYA)

Wright Investors Service Inc. lifted its position in Voya Financial, Inc. (NYSE:VOYA) by 7.7% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 9,586 shares of the asset manager’s stock after acquiring an additional 687 shares during the quarter. Wright Investors Service Inc.’s holdings in Voya Financial were worth $759,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in VOYA. SG Americas Securities LLC boosted its stake in shares of Voya Financial by 379.8% in the 3rd quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 13,242 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $1,049,000 after buying an additional 10,482 shares during the last quarter. Cascade Investment Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in Voya Financial during the third quarter worth $1,234,000. Davis Capital Management boosted its position in Voya Financial by 5.5% in the third quarter. Davis Capital Management now owns 19,880 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $1,575,000 after purchasing an additional 1,041 shares during the last quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC bought a new position in Voya Financial in the 2nd quarter valued at $319,000. Finally, Quarry LP purchased a new stake in shares of Voya Financial during the 2nd quarter valued at $61,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.10% of the company’s stock.

Voya Financial Stock Performance

VOYA traded up $1.63 on Friday, hitting $79.97. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 600,726 shares, compared to its average volume of 825,280. Voya Financial, Inc. has a 12 month low of $63.02 and a 12 month high of $80.16. The firm has a market cap of $8.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.59 and a beta of 1.03. The company has a quick ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 0.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $71.82 and its 200-day simple moving average is $71.94.

Voya Financial (NYSE:VOYA) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The asset manager reported $2.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.14 by $0.13. The firm had revenue of $2.03 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.87 billion. Voya Financial had a return on equity of 16.11% and a net margin of 10.87%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 8.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.31 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that Voya Financial, Inc. will post 8.41 EPS for the current year.

Voya Financial Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 26th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 27th were issued a dividend of $0.45 per share. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.25%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, August 27th. This is a positive change from Voya Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. Voya Financial’s payout ratio is presently 25.57%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on VOYA. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $83.00 price target on shares of Voya Financial in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Voya Financial from $86.00 to $91.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 23rd. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on shares of Voya Financial from $78.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 18th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on shares of Voya Financial from $76.00 to $75.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, August 19th. Finally, Piper Sandler increased their price objective on Voya Financial from $84.00 to $88.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $83.82.

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.