Lazard Asset Management LLC Sells 2,428 Shares of Huntington Ingalls Industries, Inc. (NYSE:HII)

Lazard Asset Management LLC trimmed its stake in shares of Huntington Ingalls Industries, Inc. (NYSE:HII - Free Report) by 76.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 740 shares of the aerospace company's stock after selling 2,428 shares during the quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC's holdings in Huntington Ingalls Industries were worth $139,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Generali Asset Management SPA SGR acquired a new stake in shares of Huntington Ingalls Industries during the fourth quarter worth $2,056,000. Assetmark Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Huntington Ingalls Industries by 2,154.9% during the fourth quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 7,802 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $1,474,000 after buying an additional 7,456 shares in the last quarter. Northcape Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Huntington Ingalls Industries in the fourth quarter valued at about $3,642,000. Essential Planning LLC. acquired a new position in Huntington Ingalls Industries in the fourth quarter valued at about $2,457,000. Finally, Integrated Quantitative Investments LLC acquired a new position in Huntington Ingalls Industries in the fourth quarter valued at about $283,000. 90.46% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Anastasi D. Kelly sold 1,960 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the director now owns 17,485 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,066,661.30. This represents a 10.08% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, VP Edmond E. Jr. Hughes sold 1,300 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $231.91, for a total value of $301,483.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 9,581 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,221,929.71. This represents a 11.95% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 4,010 shares of company stock valued at $899,510 over the last quarter. 0.86% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently commented on HII. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on Huntington Ingalls Industries from $236.00 to $265.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Alembic Global Advisors raised Huntington Ingalls Industries from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $265.00 price target for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 15th. Finally, Barclays lifted their target price on 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. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $236.38.

Huntington Ingalls Industries Price Performance

Huntington Ingalls Industries stock traded down $1.02 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $224.59. The company's stock had a trading volume of 84,905 shares, compared to its average volume of 710,487. Huntington Ingalls Industries, Inc. has a 52 week low of $158.88 and a 52 week high of $285.81. The company has a current ratio of 1.08, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $216.84 and a 200-day moving average price of $199.52. The stock has a market cap of $8.81 billion, a PE ratio of 16.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.15 and a beta of 0.31.

Huntington Ingalls Industries (NYSE:HII - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The aerospace company reported $3.79 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.90 by $0.89. Huntington Ingalls Industries had a return on equity of 12.81% and a net margin of 4.77%. The firm had revenue of $2.73 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.80 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $3.87 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 2.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Huntington Ingalls Industries, Inc. will post 13.99 EPS for the current year.

Huntington Ingalls Industries Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 13th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 30th will be paid a $1.35 dividend. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.40%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 30th. Huntington Ingalls Industries's dividend payout ratio is currently 38.90%.

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.