Prospector Partners LLC Buys 43,786 Shares of Voya Financial, Inc. (NYSE:VOYA)

Prospector Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Voya Financial, Inc. (NYSE:VOYA) by 37.9% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 159,418 shares of the asset manager’s stock after acquiring an additional 43,786 shares during the quarter. Prospector Partners LLC’s holdings in Voya Financial were worth $12,629,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of VOYA. FMR LLC grew its position in Voya Financial by 25.9% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,884,044 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $228,474,000 after purchasing an additional 592,523 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its position in Voya Financial by 1.5% in the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 2,678,016 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $212,152,000 after buying an additional 38,438 shares in the last quarter. Boston Partners raised its stake in shares of Voya Financial by 83.8% in the first quarter. Boston Partners now owns 2,525,604 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $186,310,000 after buying an additional 1,151,822 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its stake in shares of Voya Financial by 1,020.2% during the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 2,368,185 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $175,057,000 after acquiring an additional 2,156,773 shares during the period. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its position in shares of Voya Financial by 13.8% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,055,263 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $146,234,000 after purchasing an additional 248,795 shares during the period. 96.10% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Voya Financial Stock Performance

Voya Financial stock opened at $82.91 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a quick ratio of 0.31 and a current ratio of 0.31. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $80.06 and a 200-day moving average price of $74.50. The company has a market capitalization of $7.98 billion, a PE ratio of 13.20, a P/E/G ratio of 0.57 and a beta of 1.03. Voya Financial, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $63.11 and a fifty-two week high of $84.30.

Voya Financial (NYSE:VOYA) last posted its quarterly 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 business had revenue of $1.96 billion during 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 company’s quarterly revenue was up 7.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.07 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Voya Financial, Inc. will post 8.4 earnings per share for the current year.

Voya Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 26th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, November 26th will be given a dividend of $0.45 per share. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.17%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, November 26th. Voya Financial’s payout ratio is 28.66%.

Insider Activity at Voya Financial

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently issued reports on VOYA shares. Evercore ISI increased their target price on Voya Financial from $79.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 11th. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Voya Financial from $84.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. UBS Group raised Voya Financial to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, November 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered shares of Voya Financial from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $87.00 target price for the company. in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on shares of Voya Financial from $90.00 to $95.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $86.00.

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.