Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. Purchases 1,981,424 Shares of Huntington Ingalls Industries, Inc. $HII

Key Points

• Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management dramatically increased its stake in Huntington Ingalls Industries, buying 1,981,424 additional shares in Q4 and lifting its holdings to 1,986,567 shares worth about $675.6 million.
• Huntington Ingalls reported better-than-expected quarterly results, posting EPS of $3.79 versus estimates of $3.70 and revenue of $3.10 billion versus $3.02 billion expected, with revenue up 13.4% year over year.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $1.38 per share payable on June 12, while analysts currently have a mixed outlook with a consensus rating of Hold and an average price target of $393.

Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. boosted its position in Huntington Ingalls Industries, Inc. (NYSE:HII - Free Report) by 38,526.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,986,567 shares of the aerospace company's stock after acquiring an additional 1,981,424 shares during the period. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. owned 5.06% of Huntington Ingalls Industries worth $675,572,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. TriaGen Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in Huntington Ingalls Industries by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. TriaGen Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,971 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $670,000 after acquiring an additional 31 shares in the last quarter. CI Investments Inc. boosted its holdings in Huntington Ingalls Industries by 16.7% in the third quarter. CI Investments Inc. now owns 231 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $67,000 after acquiring an additional 33 shares in the last quarter. Oakworth Capital Inc. boosted its holdings in Huntington Ingalls Industries by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. Oakworth Capital Inc. now owns 2,205 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $750,000 after acquiring an additional 36 shares in the last quarter. Evergreen Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Huntington Ingalls Industries by 3.9% in the third quarter. Evergreen Capital Management LLC now owns 1,011 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $291,000 after acquiring an additional 38 shares in the last quarter. Finally, 1834 Investment Advisors Co. boosted its holdings in Huntington Ingalls Industries by 1.6% in the third quarter. 1834 Investment Advisors Co. now owns 2,535 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $730,000 after acquiring an additional 39 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 90.46% of the company's stock.

Huntington Ingalls Industries Stock Performance

Shares of HII opened at $326.01 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.19, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52. The company has a market capitalization of $12.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.21, a PEG ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 0.29. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $383.51 and a 200 day moving average of $371.45. Huntington Ingalls Industries, Inc. has a 12 month low of $215.04 and a 12 month high of $460.00.

Huntington Ingalls Industries (NYSE:HII - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The aerospace company reported $3.79 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.70 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $3.10 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.02 billion. Huntington Ingalls Industries had a return on equity of 12.05% and a net margin of 4.71%.Huntington Ingalls Industries's revenue was up 13.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $3.79 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Huntington Ingalls Industries, Inc. will post 17.29 earnings per share for the current year.

Huntington Ingalls Industries Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 12th. Investors of record on Friday, May 29th will be given a dividend of $1.38 per share. This represents a $5.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 29th. Huntington Ingalls Industries's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 35.91%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Chad N. Boudreaux sold 4,400 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $422.45, for a total transaction of $1,858,780.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president directly owned 20,360 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $8,601,082. This trade represents a 17.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Eric D. Chewning sold 1,700 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $433.44, for a total value of $736,848.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 1,949 shares of the company's stock, valued at $844,774.56. The trade was a 46.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Company insiders own 0.80% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently commented on the company. Sanford C. Bernstein reissued a "market perform" rating and issued a $421.00 price objective on shares of Huntington Ingalls Industries in a research note on Wednesday, February 11th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Huntington Ingalls Industries from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Sunday, May 10th. TD Cowen lowered their price objective on Huntington Ingalls Industries from $460.00 to $420.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. Weiss Ratings downgraded Huntington Ingalls Industries from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on Huntington Ingalls Industries from $384.00 to $425.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 20th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $393.00.

Huntington Ingalls Industries Company Profile

Huntington Ingalls Industries NYSE: HII is America's largest military shipbuilding company and a leading provider of professional services to the U.S. government. Headquartered in Newport News, Virginia, HII designs, constructs and maintains nuclear-powered aircraft carriers, submarines and other complex vessels for the U.S. Navy. The company's products include nuclear aircraft carriers, Virginia-class and Columbia-class submarines, as well as amphibious assault ships, destroyers and cutters.

Established in 2011 as a spin-off from Northrop Grumman's shipbuilding operations, HII traces its heritage to two historic builders: Newport News Shipbuilding, founded in the 19th century, and Ingalls Shipbuilding, founded in 1938.

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