Hennessy Advisors Inc. Purchases New Position in Voya Financial, Inc. (NYSE:VOYA)

Hennessy Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Voya Financial, Inc. (NYSE:VOYA) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 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 portfolio, making the stock its 22nd biggest position.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. FMR LLC boosted its stake in shares of Voya Financial by 25.9% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,884,044 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $228,474,000 after purchasing an additional 592,523 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its position in shares of 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 buying an additional 248,795 shares during the period. Leeward Investments LLC MA bought a new position in shares of Voya Financial during the third quarter valued at approximately $19,269,000. Renaissance Technologies LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Voya Financial in the second quarter worth approximately $13,013,000. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Voya Financial by 29.6% in the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 651,803 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $46,376,000 after purchasing an additional 148,810 shares during the period. 96.10% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently commented on VOYA. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their target price on shares of Voya Financial from $95.00 to $90.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. UBS Group upgraded Voya Financial to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 11th. Barclays dropped their price target on Voya Financial from $85.00 to $81.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Evercore ISI decreased their price objective on Voya Financial from $94.00 to $89.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and issued a $76.00 price objective (down from $87.00) on shares of Voya Financial in a research note on Tuesday. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $83.73.

Insider Activity

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

Voya Financial Trading Up 0.8 %

NYSE:VOYA opened at $69.75 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $6.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.11, a PEG ratio of 0.44 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a current ratio of 0.31, a quick ratio of 0.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $74.44 and a 200-day simple moving average of $74.20. Voya Financial, Inc. has a 12 month low of $63.11 and a 12 month high of $84.30.

Voya Financial (NYSE:VOYA) last released its earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The asset manager reported $2.12 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.05 by $0.07. Voya Financial had a return on equity of 15.09% and a net margin of 8.81%. The firm had revenue of $1.96 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.86 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.07 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 7.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Voya Financial, Inc. will post 7.62 earnings per share for the current year.

Voya Financial Announces Dividend

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

About Voya Financial

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.