Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. Purchases 4,568 Shares of Huntington Ingalls Industries, Inc. $HII

Key Points

• Farmers & Merchants Investments increased its Huntington Ingalls Industries stake by 48.8% in the third quarter, purchasing 4,568 shares and bringing its total holdings to 13,926 shares valued at approximately $3.72 million.
• Analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus on HII, with five Buy and five Hold ratings and an average price target of $361.75, well above the reported $274.46 share price.
• HII reported strong quarterly results, beating earnings and revenue estimates, and raised its quarterly dividend to $1.41 per share, equivalent to a 2.1% annualized yield.

Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. grew its holdings in Huntington Ingalls Industries, Inc. (NYSE:HII - Free Report) by 48.8% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 13,926 shares of the aerospace company's stock after purchasing an additional 4,568 shares during the quarter. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc.'s holdings in Huntington Ingalls Industries were worth $3,719,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Studio Investment Management LLC grew its stake in Huntington Ingalls Industries by 6.9% during the 3rd quarter. Studio Investment Management LLC now owns 2,262 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $604,000 after purchasing an additional 146 shares in the last quarter. Old North State Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Huntington Ingalls Industries by 12.3% during the 3rd quarter. Old North State Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,852 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $1,032,000 after purchasing an additional 423 shares during the period. Brookstone Capital Management increased its position in shares of Huntington Ingalls Industries by 5.6% in the third quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 1,461 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $390,000 after buying an additional 77 shares in the last quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Huntington Ingalls Industries during the third quarter worth approximately $42,000. Finally, Reyes Financial Architecture Inc. acquired a new position in Huntington Ingalls Industries in the third quarter valued at $42,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.46% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on HII shares. Sanford C. Bernstein decreased their price target on Huntington Ingalls Industries from $327.00 to $304.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 14th. Wolfe Research raised shares of Huntington Ingalls Industries from a "peer perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $364.00 price target for the company in a report on Friday, July 31st. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Huntington Ingalls Industries from $325.00 to $340.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 4th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Huntington Ingalls Industries from a "hold (c)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a research note on Monday, August 31st. Finally, Citigroup upped their target price on Huntington Ingalls Industries from $349.00 to $379.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $361.75.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Christopher Kastner sold 13,070 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $324.92, for a total transaction of $4,246,704.40. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 11,224 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,646,902.08. This represents a 53.80% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Corporate insiders own 0.80% of the company's stock.

Huntington Ingalls Industries Stock Down 1.6%

HII opened at $274.46 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a current ratio of 1.23. The firm has a market cap of $10.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.36, a PEG ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 0.21. Huntington Ingalls Industries, Inc. has a twelve month low of $255.35 and a twelve month high of $460.00. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $279.23 and its 200-day simple moving average is $304.96.

Huntington Ingalls Industries (NYSE:HII - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 30th. The aerospace company reported $5.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.79 by $1.48. The firm had revenue of $3.42 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.15 billion. Huntington Ingalls Industries had a return on equity of 12.89% and a net margin of 5.01%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 10.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $3.86 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Huntington Ingalls Industries, Inc. will post 18.51 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Huntington Ingalls Industries Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 11th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 27th will be given a dividend of $1.41 per share. This is an increase from Huntington Ingalls Industries's previous quarterly dividend of $1.38. This represents a $5.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 27th. Huntington Ingalls Industries's payout ratio is 32.90%.

About Huntington Ingalls Industries

Huntington Ingalls Industries, Inc NYSE: HII is an American defense company that designs, builds, maintains and modernizes ships for the U.S. Navy and other government customers. Its shipbuilding activities include nuclear-powered aircraft carriers, submarines, amphibious assault ships, destroyers and other surface vessels, along with fleet sustainment and modernization services.

HII operates through its Newport News Shipbuilding and Ingalls Shipbuilding divisions. Newport News Shipbuilding is involved in the construction and maintenance of nuclear-powered aircraft carriers and submarines, while Ingalls Shipbuilding builds surface combatants and amphibious ships.

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