Principal Financial Group Inc. Cuts Stock Holdings in Voya Financial, Inc. (NYSE:VOYA)

Principal Financial Group Inc. lowered its stake in shares of Voya Financial, Inc. (NYSE:VOYA) by 32.1% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor 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 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Arjuna Capital grew its stake in shares of Voya Financial by 0.8% in the 2nd quarter. Arjuna Capital now owns 19,685 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $1,401,000 after acquiring an additional 161 shares in the last quarter. US Bancorp DE grew its position in Voya Financial by 5.8% in the 3rd quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 3,655 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $290,000 after purchasing an additional 202 shares in the last quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. increased its stake in Voya Financial by 6.8% in 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 buying an additional 210 shares during the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its position in shares of Voya Financial by 118.9% during the 3rd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 440 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 239 shares in the last quarter. Finally, State of Alaska Department of Revenue boosted its stake in shares of Voya Financial by 2.2% in the 3rd quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 11,426 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $905,000 after buying an additional 245 shares during the last quarter. 96.10% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently commented on VOYA shares. Evercore ISI increased their price target on Voya Financial from $79.00 to $82.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 11th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on Voya Financial from $78.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 18th. Piper Sandler boosted their price target on shares of Voya Financial from $88.00 to $91.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on shares of Voya Financial from $76.00 to $75.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, August 19th. Finally, UBS Group raised shares of Voya Financial to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $86.00.

Insider Transactions at Voya Financial

In other news, insider Tony D. Oh sold 715 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $81.95, for a total value of $58,594.25. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 1.37% of the company’s stock.

Voya Financial Price Performance

NYSE VOYA opened at $81.35 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 0.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54. The company has a market cap of $7.83 billion, a PE ratio of 12.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.59 and a beta of 1.03. Voya Financial, Inc. has a 52 week low of $63.11 and a 52 week high of $84.30. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $79.09 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $74.05.

Voya Financial (NYSE:VOYA) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The asset manager reported $2.12 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.05 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $1.96 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.86 billion. Voya Financial had a net margin of 8.81% and a return on equity of 15.09%. Voya Financial’s revenue was up 7.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.07 EPS. Research analysts predict that Voya Financial, Inc. will post 8.21 earnings per share for the current year.

Voya Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced 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. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, November 26th. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.21%. Voya Financial’s dividend payout ratio is currently 28.66%.

About Voya Financial

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.