Voya Financial, Inc. (NYSE:VOYA) Stake Boosted by Cookson Peirce & Co. Inc.

Cookson Peirce & Co. Inc. grew its stake in shares of Voya Financial, Inc. (NYSE:VOYA) by 12.4% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 8,614 shares of the asset manager’s stock after acquiring an additional 950 shares during the period. Cookson Peirce & Co. Inc.’s holdings in Voya Financial were worth $593,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. C2P Capital Advisory Group LLC d.b.a. Prosperity Capital Advisors grew its holdings in shares of Voya Financial by 420.8% during the 4th quarter. C2P Capital Advisory Group LLC d.b.a. Prosperity Capital Advisors now owns 64,398 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $4,812,000 after acquiring an additional 52,032 shares in the last quarter. KBC Group NV grew its holdings in shares of Voya Financial by 260.5% during the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 9,384 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $646,000 after acquiring an additional 6,781 shares in the last quarter. Hennessy Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Voya Financial during the 4th quarter valued at $47,155,000. Barclays PLC grew its holdings in shares of Voya Financial by 48.2% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 48,890 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $3,872,000 after acquiring an additional 15,902 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Miracle Mile Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Voya Financial during the 4th quarter valued at $1,379,000. 96.10% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Voya Financial Stock Up 0.8 %

Voya Financial stock opened at $70.10 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $6.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.45, a P/E/G ratio of 0.48 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 0.30 and a quick ratio of 0.31. Voya Financial, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $64.10 and a fifty-two week high of $84.30. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $70.56 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $74.62.

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

Voya Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 27th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 25th will be issued a dividend of $0.45 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 25th. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.57%. Voya Financial’s payout ratio is 29.41%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently commented on VOYA. Barclays cut shares of Voya Financial from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on shares of Voya Financial from $87.00 to $82.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Morgan Stanley raised shares of Voya Financial from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $76.00 to $87.00 in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Piper Sandler reduced their price objective on shares of Voya Financial from $91.00 to $84.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Voya Financial from $76.00 to $79.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $83.55.

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.