Voya Financial (NYSE:VOYA) Sees Unusually-High Trading Volume – Here’s What Happened

Voya Financial, Inc. (NYSE:VOYA) saw unusually-high trading volume on Thursday . Approximately 724,205 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 37% from the previous session’s volume of 1,149,451 shares.The stock last traded at $100.8050 and had previously closed at $98.49.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

VOYA has been the subject of several recent research reports. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Voya Financial from $95.00 to $125.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, July 10th. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price target on shares of Voya Financial from $91.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, July 2nd. Bank of America lowered their price target on shares of Voya Financial from $72.00 to $70.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 14th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of Voya Financial from $84.00 to $92.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 21st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on Voya Financial from $89.00 to $88.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, May 26th. One equities research 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Voya Financial currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $97.69.

Voya Financial Stock Up 1.1%

The firm’s 50 day moving average is $87.94 and its two-hundred day moving average is $78.36. The stock has a market cap of $9.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.04, a P/E/G ratio of 0.91 and a beta of 0.91. The company has a current ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48.

Voya Financial (NYSE:VOYA) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The asset manager reported $2.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.02 by $0.24. The company had revenue of $1.93 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.98 billion. Voya Financial had a net margin of 8.24% and a return on equity of 13.84%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.00 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Voya Financial, Inc. will post 9.45 EPS for the current year.

Voya Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 26th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 26th were given a $0.47 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, May 26th. This represents a $1.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.9%. Voya Financial’s payout ratio is currently 28.40%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Voya Financial news, insider Trevor Ogle sold 3,994 shares of Voya Financial stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.00, for a total value of $359,460.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 2,887 shares in the company, valued at $259,830. The trade was a 58.04% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 1.57% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Voya Financial

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of VOYA. Hudson Bay Capital Management LP raised its stake in shares of Voya Financial by 21.1% in the 3rd quarter. Hudson Bay Capital Management LP now owns 151,462 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $11,329,000 after acquiring an additional 26,346 shares during the period. Impax Asset Management Group plc increased its holdings in Voya Financial by 11.4% in the 4th quarter. Impax Asset Management Group plc now owns 203,101 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $15,129,000 after purchasing an additional 20,722 shares in the last quarter. Prana Capital Management LP purchased a new position in Voya Financial in the third quarter valued at about $2,454,000. Ruffer LLP acquired a new position in shares of Voya Financial during the fourth quarter worth about $3,153,000. Finally, Algebris UK Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Voya Financial by 17.6% during the 4th quarter. Algebris UK Ltd. now owns 660,743 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $49,242,000 after buying an additional 99,122 shares during the period. 96.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Voya Financial

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.