Bank of Nova Scotia Sells 15,500 Shares of Voya Financial, Inc. $VOYA

Bank of Nova Scotia lessened its holdings in shares of Voya Financial, Inc. (NYSE:VOYA) by 38.5% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 24,800 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 15,500 shares during the period. Bank of Nova Scotia’s holdings in Voya Financial were worth $1,694,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Allworth Financial LP raised its position in shares of Voya Financial by 75.5% during the 3rd quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 351 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 151 shares during the last quarter. Atlas Capital Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of Voya Financial in the 4th quarter worth $28,000. V Square Quantitative Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Voya Financial in the 4th quarter worth $33,000. Systematic Financial Management LP acquired a new stake in shares of Voya Financial during the fourth quarter worth $37,000. Finally, Root Financial Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Voya Financial by 59.6% during the first quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC now owns 573 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 214 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 96.10% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Atlantic Securities set a $79.00 target price on Voya Financial in a research note on Wednesday, July 15th. Barclays boosted their target price on Voya Financial from $98.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 7th. UBS Group upped their price target on Voya Financial from $95.00 to $125.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, July 10th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Voya Financial from $84.00 to $92.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 21st. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised shares of Voya Financial from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research note on Friday, June 5th. 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 assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Voya Financial presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $100.15.

Insider Transactions at Voya Financial

In related news, insider Trevor Ogle sold 3,994 shares of Voya Financial stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.00, for a total value of $359,460.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 2,887 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $259,830. This trade represents a 58.04% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Corporate insiders own 1.57% of the company’s stock.

Voya Financial Stock Performance

VOYA opened at $98.74 on Thursday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $91.50 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $79.96. Voya Financial, Inc. has a 1 year low of $64.50 and a 1 year high of $103.85. The company has a market capitalization of $8.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.91, a P/E/G ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 0.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 0.27 and a quick ratio of 0.27.

Voya Financial (NYSE:VOYA) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The asset manager reported $2.26 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.02 by $0.24. The company had revenue of $1.93 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.98 billion. Voya Financial had a return on equity of 13.84% and a net margin of 8.24%.The company’s quarterly revenue was up 3.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.00 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that Voya Financial, Inc. will post 9.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Voya Financial 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.