Franklin Resources Inc. Reduces Stake in Voya Financial, Inc. (NYSE:VOYA)

Franklin Resources Inc. reduced its holdings in Voya Financial, Inc. (NYSE:VOYA) by 4.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 5,488,519 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 264,593 shares during the quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. owned about 5.70% of Voya Financial worth $377,775,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Wealthspire Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Voya Financial by 5.3% in the fourth quarter. Wealthspire Advisors LLC now owns 2,967 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $204,000 after acquiring an additional 148 shares in the last quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group boosted its stake in shares of Voya Financial by 17.0% during the 4th quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 1,166 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $80,000 after purchasing an additional 169 shares in the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc increased its position in shares of Voya Financial by 5.7% during the fourth quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 3,307 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $228,000 after buying an additional 177 shares during the period. Jones Financial Companies Lllp increased its position in shares of Voya Financial by 81.0% during the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 409 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 183 shares during the period. Finally, Parkside Financial Bank & Trust raised its stake in Voya Financial by 13.6% in the fourth quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 1,532 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $105,000 after buying an additional 184 shares in the last quarter. 96.10% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Voya Financial Stock Up 0.8 %

Shares of Voya Financial stock opened at $67.82 on Tuesday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $70.42 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $74.39. Voya Financial, Inc. has a 52-week low of $64.10 and a 52-week high of $84.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a quick ratio of 0.31 and a current ratio of 0.30. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.48 billion, a PE ratio of 11.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.48 and a beta of 1.03.

Voya Financial (NYSE:VOYA) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The asset manager reported $1.50 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.15 by ($0.65). Voya Financial had a return on equity of 14.10% and a net margin of 8.29%. On average, analysts anticipate that Voya Financial, Inc. will post 8.39 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Voya Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 27th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 25th were given a $0.45 dividend. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.65%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 25th. Voya Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 29.41%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

VOYA has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their target price on Voya Financial from $90.00 to $85.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price target on Voya Financial from $90.00 to $84.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Bank of America reissued an “underperform” rating and set a $71.00 price objective (down previously from $79.00) on shares of Voya Financial in a research report on Friday. Barclays downgraded shares of Voya Financial from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised shares of Voya Financial from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $76.00 to $87.00 in a research report on Friday, February 28th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $82.45.

Voya Financial Company 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.