Principal Financial Group Inc. Decreases Stake in Voya Financial, Inc. (NYSE:VOYA)

Principal Financial Group Inc. reduced its position in Voya Financial, Inc. (NYSE:VOYA) by 32.1% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 227,819 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 107,610 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Voya Financial were worth $18,048,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. US Bancorp DE raised its position in shares of Voya Financial by 5.8% in the third quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 3,655 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $290,000 after purchasing an additional 202 shares during the period. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. raised its holdings in Voya Financial by 6.8% during the 3rd quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. now owns 3,291 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $261,000 after acquiring an additional 210 shares during the period. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its position in shares of Voya Financial by 118.9% during the third quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 440 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 239 shares in the last quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue lifted its position in shares of Voya Financial by 2.2% during the third quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 11,426 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $905,000 after acquiring an additional 245 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Coldstream Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Voya Financial by 8.1% in the third quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. now owns 3,591 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $285,000 after acquiring an additional 270 shares during the period. 96.10% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Voya Financial Stock Up 0.8 %

Shares of VOYA opened at $68.77 on Friday. Voya Financial, Inc. has a 1 year low of $63.11 and a 1 year high of $84.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 0.31 and a quick ratio of 0.31. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $78.10 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $74.59. The firm has a market cap of $6.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.95, a P/E/G ratio of 0.54 and a beta of 1.02.

Voya Financial (NYSE:VOYA) last released its earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The asset manager reported $2.12 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.05 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $1.96 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.86 billion. Voya Financial had a net margin of 8.81% and a return on equity of 15.09%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 7.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.07 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Voya Financial, Inc. will post 8.09 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Voya Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 26th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, November 26th were issued a $0.45 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, November 26th. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.62%. Voya Financial’s dividend payout ratio is currently 28.66%.

Insider Activity

In other Voya Financial news, insider Tony D. Oh sold 715 shares of Voya Financial stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $81.95, for a total value of $58,594.25. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 1.37% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently issued reports on VOYA shares. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on Voya Financial from $92.00 to $87.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price target on shares of Voya Financial from $95.00 to $90.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Bank of America reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $83.00 price objective (down previously from $91.00) on shares of Voya Financial in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Raymond James cut shares of Voya Financial from a “strong-buy” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, September 13th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered shares of Voya Financial from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $87.00 price target for the company. in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Voya Financial has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $85.08.

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.