Private Advisor Group LLC Lowers Stock Position in Huntington Ingalls Industries, Inc. (NYSE:HII)

Key Points

• Private Advisor Group LLC has decreased its stake in Huntington Ingalls Industries by 39.2%, selling 3,170 shares, leaving them with 4,922 shares valued at approximately $1,004,000.
• Analysts have recently revised their price targets for the company, with Goldman Sachs raising it from $236 to $265, indicating a positive outlook and a "buy" rating.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $1.35, leading to an annualized dividend yield of 2.04% and a payout ratio of 38.90%.

Private Advisor Group LLC trimmed its position in Huntington Ingalls Industries, Inc. (NYSE:HII - Free Report) by 39.2% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,922 shares of the aerospace company's stock after selling 3,170 shares during the quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC's holdings in Huntington Ingalls Industries were worth $1,004,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of HII. LPL Financial LLC increased its position in shares of Huntington Ingalls Industries by 88.3% in the fourth quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 118,183 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $22,333,000 after purchasing an additional 55,436 shares during the last quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. increased its position in shares of Huntington Ingalls Industries by 5.3% in the fourth quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. now owns 30,608 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $5,784,000 after purchasing an additional 1,529 shares during the last quarter. Korea Investment CORP increased its position in shares of Huntington Ingalls Industries by 43.1% in the fourth quarter. Korea Investment CORP now owns 24,918 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $4,709,000 after purchasing an additional 7,502 shares during the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its position in shares of Huntington Ingalls Industries by 4.9% in the fourth quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 66,503 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $12,508,000 after purchasing an additional 3,118 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UniSuper Management Pty Ltd grew its position in Huntington Ingalls Industries by 44.5% during the fourth quarter. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd now owns 9,319 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $1,761,000 after acquiring an additional 2,868 shares during the last quarter. 90.46% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Huntington Ingalls Industries Trading Up 8.4%

Shares of Huntington Ingalls Industries stock traded up $21.74 on Thursday, hitting $280.26. The stock had a trading volume of 758,601 shares, compared to its average volume of 644,966. The company has a quick ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57. Huntington Ingalls Industries, Inc. has a one year low of $158.88 and a one year high of $293.14. The stock has a market cap of $11.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.20, a PEG ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 0.31. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $241.14 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $214.94.

Huntington Ingalls Industries (NYSE:HII - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The aerospace company reported $3.86 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.20 by $0.66. Huntington Ingalls Industries had a return on equity of 12.26% and a net margin of 4.76%. During the same period last year, the business earned $4.38 earnings per share. Huntington Ingalls Industries's revenue was up 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Huntington Ingalls Industries, Inc. will post 13.99 EPS for the current year.

Huntington Ingalls Industries Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 12th. Investors of record on Friday, August 29th will be paid a $1.35 dividend. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.93%. Huntington Ingalls Industries's payout ratio is 38.90%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have commented on HII. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Huntington Ingalls Industries from $200.00 to $235.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, May 5th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on shares of Huntington Ingalls Industries from $236.00 to $265.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Alembic Global Advisors upgraded shares of Huntington Ingalls Industries from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $265.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 15th. Finally, TD Cowen upgraded shares of Huntington Ingalls Industries from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their price target for the company from $250.00 to $300.00 in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $251.38.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Chad N. Boudreaux sold 1,965 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $228.94, for a total value of $449,867.10. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president owned 21,228 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,859,938.32. This trade represents a 8.47% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Anastasi D. Kelly sold 1,960 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 6th. The stock was 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 5,225 shares of company stock valued at $1,207,207 over the last quarter. 0.72% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Huntington Ingalls Industries Company Profile

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.