Empowered Funds LLC Takes $5.16 Million Position in Voya Financial, Inc. $VOYA

Empowered Funds LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Voya Financial, Inc. (NYSE:VOYA) during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 56,980 shares of the asset manager’s stock, valued at approximately $5,158,000. Empowered Funds LLC owned 0.06% of Voya Financial at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Voya Financial in the second quarter worth approximately $850,187,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new position in Voya Financial in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $520,280,000. Pzena Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Voya Financial in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $319,539,000. Verdad Advisers LP purchased a new stake in Voya Financial in the 4th quarter worth approximately $148,980,000. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Voya Financial during the 4th quarter valued at $83,106,000. 96.10% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Voya Financial Stock Down 1.2%

Voya Financial stock opened at $101.37 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51. Voya Financial, Inc. has a 1-year low of $64.50 and a 1-year high of $103.85. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $97.94 and its 200-day simple moving average is $83.88. The company has a market capitalization of $9.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.09, a P/E/G ratio of 0.99 and a beta of 0.89.

Voya Financial (NYSE:VOYA) last posted 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 analyst estimates of $1.90 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.66 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that Voya Financial, Inc. will post 9.25 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Voya Financial Announces Dividend

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Voya Financial news, insider Trevor Ogle sold 3,994 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the insider owned 2,887 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $259,830. This represents a 58.04% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Company insiders own 1.57% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

VOYA has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on shares of Voya Financial from $109.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 11th. UBS Group increased their price objective on Voya Financial from $95.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, July 10th. Barclays lifted their price objective on Voya Financial from $98.00 to $105.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 7th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on Voya Financial from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, July 10th. Finally, Raymond James Financial raised Voya Financial from a “market perform” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and set a $117.00 price target for the company in a research note on Monday, June 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have assigned a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $103.85.

Voya Financial 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.