Huntington Ingalls Industries, Inc. (NYSE:HII) Shares Sold by Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH

Key Points

• Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH significantly reduced its stake in Huntington Ingalls Industries by 84.4% in the first quarter, selling over 36,000 shares and leaving it with about 6,686 shares valued at $1.36 million.
• Several analysts have raised their price targets for Huntington Ingalls Industries, with Goldman Sachs increasing its target from $236 to $265 and Barclays setting a target of $235.
• The company has announced a quarterly dividend of $1.35 per share, set to be paid on September 12th, which reflects a 1.9% dividend yield and a payout ratio of 38.90%.

Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH decreased its holdings in shares of Huntington Ingalls Industries, Inc. (NYSE:HII - Free Report) by 84.4% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 6,686 shares of the aerospace company's stock after selling 36,042 shares during the quarter. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH's holdings in Huntington Ingalls Industries were worth $1,364,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Huntington Ingalls Industries in the first quarter valued at approximately $867,000. Guidance Capital Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Huntington Ingalls Industries by 21.7% during the 1st quarter. Guidance Capital Inc. now owns 5,233 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $1,068,000 after purchasing an additional 932 shares during the last quarter. IFP Advisors Inc boosted its position in Huntington Ingalls Industries by 557.6% during the first quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 2,045 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $417,000 after purchasing an additional 1,734 shares in the last quarter. AMG National Trust Bank boosted its holdings in shares of Huntington Ingalls Industries by 47.3% in the 1st quarter. AMG National Trust Bank now owns 8,310 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $1,696,000 after buying an additional 2,668 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Auxano Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Huntington Ingalls Industries by 89.9% during the 1st quarter. Auxano Advisors LLC now owns 2,739 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $559,000 after acquiring an additional 1,297 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 90.46% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Anastasi D. Kelly sold 1,960 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $232.58, for a total value of $455,856.80. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 17,485 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,066,661.30. The trade was a 10.08% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, VP Edmond E. Jr. Hughes sold 1,300 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $231.91, for a total transaction of $301,483.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president directly owned 9,581 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,221,929.71. This trade represents a 11.95% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 5,225 shares of company stock worth $1,207,207. Corporate insiders own 0.72% of the company's stock.

Huntington Ingalls Industries Trading Down 3.4%

Shares of HII stock traded down $9.60 during trading on Friday, hitting $269.26. 763,551 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 471,886. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 0.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 1.08 and a quick ratio of 0.99. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $243.11 and its 200-day moving average price is $216.01. Huntington Ingalls Industries, Inc. has a 52-week low of $158.88 and a 52-week high of $293.14.

Huntington Ingalls Industries (NYSE:HII - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 31st. The aerospace company reported $3.86 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.23 by $0.63. Huntington Ingalls Industries had a net margin of 4.54% and a return on equity of 11.34%. The business had revenue of $3.08 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.94 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $4.38 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts forecast that Huntington Ingalls Industries, Inc. will post 13.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Huntington Ingalls Industries Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 12th. Investors of record on Friday, August 29th will be paid a dividend of $1.35 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 29th. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.0%. Huntington Ingalls Industries's payout ratio is presently 40.42%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

HII has been the topic of several research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on Huntington Ingalls Industries from $236.00 to $265.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. TD Cowen upgraded Huntington Ingalls Industries from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $250.00 to $300.00 in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. Barclays raised their price objective on Huntington Ingalls Industries from $200.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, May 5th. Alembic Global Advisors upgraded Huntington Ingalls Industries from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $265.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 15th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Huntington Ingalls Industries from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $251.38.

About Huntington Ingalls Industries

Huntington Ingalls Industries, Inc designs, builds, overhauls, and repairs military ships in the United States. It operates through three segments: Ingalls, Newport News, and Mission Technologies. The company is involved in the design and construction of non-nuclear ships comprising amphibious assault ships; expeditionary warfare ships; surface combatants; and national security cutters for the U.S.