Federated Hermes Inc. Lowers Stake in Voya Financial, Inc. (NYSE:VOYA)

Federated Hermes Inc. cut its holdings in shares of Voya Financial, Inc. (NYSE:VOYA) by 1.9% during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 26,806 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 510 shares during the period. Federated Hermes Inc.’s holdings in Voya Financial were worth $1,907,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in Voya Financial by 6.2% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 11,067,291 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $818,094,000 after purchasing an additional 644,216 shares during the period. Boston Partners grew its stake in Voya Financial by 83.8% in the 1st quarter. Boston Partners now owns 2,525,604 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $186,310,000 after acquiring an additional 1,151,822 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its stake in Voya Financial by 1,020.2% in 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. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Voya Financial in the 4th quarter worth $80,749,000. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its position in Voya Financial by 1.1% during the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 387,385 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $28,635,000 after acquiring an additional 4,250 shares during the period. 96.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Voya Financial Price Performance

Shares of VOYA stock opened at $76.62 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a current ratio of 0.30 and a quick ratio of 0.30. The company has a market capitalization of $7.53 billion, a PE ratio of 10.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.56 and a beta of 1.03. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $70.58 and its two-hundred day moving average is $71.29. Voya Financial, Inc. has a 12 month low of $63.02 and a 12 month high of $78.12.

Voya Financial (NYSE:VOYA) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 30th. The asset manager reported $2.27 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.14 by $0.13. The firm had revenue of $2.03 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.87 billion. Voya Financial had a return on equity of 16.11% and a net margin of 10.87%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 8.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.31 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Voya Financial, Inc. will post 8.45 earnings per share for the current year.

Voya Financial Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 26th. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 27th will be given a dividend of $0.45 per share. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.35%. This is an increase from Voya Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, August 27th. Voya Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 25.57%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on VOYA. 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. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on Voya Financial from $76.00 to $75.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, August 19th. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $83.00 target price on shares of Voya Financial in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on Voya Financial from $79.00 to $82.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 11th. Finally, Citigroup raised their price objective on Voya Financial from $86.00 to $91.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $83.64.

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.