Hennessy Advisors Inc. Acquires New Shares in Voya Financial, Inc. (NYSE:VOYA)

Hennessy Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Voya Financial, Inc. (NYSE:VOYA) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund bought 685,100 shares of the asset manager’s stock, valued at approximately $47,155,000. Voya Financial comprises about 1.4% of Hennessy Advisors Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 22nd biggest position. Hennessy Advisors Inc. owned 0.71% of Voya Financial at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Barclays PLC grew its stake in shares of Voya Financial by 48.2% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 48,890 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $3,872,000 after acquiring an additional 15,902 shares during the period. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Voya Financial in the fourth quarter worth $1,379,000. Retirement Systems of Alabama grew its holdings in shares of Voya Financial by 8.2% in the third quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama now owns 272,339 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $21,575,000 after acquiring an additional 20,750 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in Voya Financial by 13.8% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,055,263 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $146,234,000 after acquiring an additional 248,795 shares during the last quarter. Finally, FMR LLC lifted its holdings in Voya Financial by 25.9% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,884,044 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $228,474,000 after acquiring an additional 592,523 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 96.10% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Voya Financial

In related news, insider Tony D. Oh sold 715 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $81.95, for a total value of $58,594.25. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 1.37% of the company’s stock.

Voya Financial Trading Up 0.8 %

VOYA stock opened at $69.75 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 0.31 and a quick ratio of 0.31. Voya Financial, Inc. has a 1-year low of $63.11 and a 1-year high of $84.30. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $74.44 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $74.20. The company has a market capitalization of $6.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.11, a PEG ratio of 0.44 and a beta of 1.05.

Voya Financial (NYSE:VOYA) last issued its earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The asset manager reported $2.12 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.05 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $1.96 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 for the quarter was up 7.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.07 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that Voya Financial, Inc. will post 7.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Voya Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 26th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, November 26th were given a dividend of $0.45 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, November 26th. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.58%. Voya Financial’s payout ratio is 28.66%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have issued reports on VOYA. Barclays cut their price target on Voya Financial from $85.00 to $81.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Wells Fargo & Company restated an “equal weight” rating and set a $76.00 target price (down from $87.00) on shares of Voya Financial in a research report on Tuesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on shares of Voya Financial from $87.00 to $82.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Evercore ISI cut their price objective on shares of Voya Financial from $94.00 to $89.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their target price on Voya Financial from $92.00 to $90.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 10th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $83.73.

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.