Morgan Stanley Cuts Voya Financial (NYSE:VOYA) Price Target to $76.00

Voya Financial (NYSE:VOYA) had its price objective reduced by Morgan Stanley from $78.00 to $76.00 in a research note published on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. They currently have an equal weight rating on the asset manager’s stock.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently weighed in on VOYA. Bank of America restated a “neutral” rating and set a $83.00 price target (down previously from $91.00) on shares of Voya Financial in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price objective on Voya Financial from $90.00 to $85.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 3rd. UBS Group raised Voya Financial to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their target price on shares of Voya Financial from $90.00 to $84.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on Voya Financial from $87.00 to $82.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $82.27.

Voya Financial Stock Performance

Shares of VOYA opened at $74.29 on Tuesday. 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 $7.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.46 and a beta of 1.05. Voya Financial has a 52-week low of $64.10 and a 52-week high of $84.30. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $70.07 and its 200 day simple moving average is $74.10.

Voya Financial (NYSE:VOYA) last posted its earnings results 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%. Research analysts forecast that Voya Financial will post 8.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Voya Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 27th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 25th will be paid a dividend of $0.45 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 25th. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.42%. Voya Financial’s dividend payout ratio is currently 29.41%.

Institutional Trading of Voya Financial

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Impax Asset Management Group plc boosted its stake in shares of Voya Financial by 277.8% in the 4th quarter. Impax Asset Management Group plc now owns 2,898,785 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $199,062,000 after buying an additional 2,131,578 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Voya Financial during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $96,508,000. Wealthfront Advisers LLC purchased a new stake in Voya Financial during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $67,214,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its stake in shares of Voya Financial by 15.7% in the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 6,472,277 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $445,487,000 after purchasing an additional 876,399 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hennessy Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in Voya Financial during the fourth quarter valued at $47,155,000. Institutional investors own 96.10% of the company’s stock.

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.