Epoch Investment Partners Inc. Buys 22,439 Shares of Voya Financial, Inc. $VOYA

Epoch Investment Partners Inc. grew its stake in shares of Voya Financial, Inc. (NYSE:VOYA) by 13.4% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 189,949 shares of the asset manager’s stock after buying an additional 22,439 shares during the period. Epoch Investment Partners Inc.’s holdings in Voya Financial were worth $12,977,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Allworth Financial LP increased its holdings in Voya Financial by 75.5% in the 3rd quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 351 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 151 shares in the last quarter. Four Tree Island Advisory LLC lifted its holdings in Voya Financial by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Four Tree Island Advisory LLC now owns 32,532 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $2,423,000 after purchasing an additional 174 shares in the last quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Voya Financial by 59.6% during the first quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC now owns 573 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 214 shares in the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Voya Financial by 56.9% in the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 612 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $46,000 after purchasing an additional 222 shares during the period. Finally, Geneos Wealth Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Voya Financial by 44.0% in the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 730 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $49,000 after purchasing an additional 223 shares during the period. 96.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Voya Financial Trading Up 1.9%

Voya Financial stock opened at $98.60 on Friday. Voya Financial, Inc. has a 1 year low of $64.50 and a 1 year high of $103.85. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $90.43 and its 200-day moving average price is $79.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 0.27 and a quick ratio of 0.27. The stock has a market cap of $8.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.89, a PEG ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 0.91.

Voya Financial (NYSE:VOYA) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The asset manager reported $2.26 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.02 by $0.24. The firm had revenue of $1.93 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.98 billion. Voya Financial had a net margin of 8.24% and a return on equity of 13.84%. Voya Financial’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.00 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that Voya Financial, Inc. will post 9.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Voya Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 26th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 26th were paid a $0.47 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, May 26th. This represents a $1.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.9%. Voya Financial’s payout ratio is presently 28.40%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently commented on the stock. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Voya Financial from $98.00 to $105.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 7th. Bank of America dropped their target price on shares of Voya Financial from $72.00 to $70.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 14th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on Voya Financial from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, July 10th. Weiss Ratings raised Voya Financial from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Friday, June 5th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on Voya Financial from $92.00 to $109.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, July 13th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Voya Financial presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $100.15.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Voya Financial Company 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.