Vanguard Group Inc. Trims Holdings in Huntington Ingalls Industries, Inc. $HII

Key Points

• Vanguard trimmed its Q4 stake in Huntington Ingalls by 0.2% to 4,845,415 shares, still owning about 12.35% of the company — roughly $1.65 billion.
• Insider sales occurred recently: VP Chad N. Boudreaux sold 4,400 shares at about $422.45 and EVP Eric D. Chewning sold 1,700 shares at about $433.44, substantially reducing their holdings.
• Strong quarterly results and dividend: HII reported EPS of $4.04 (vs. $3.72 expected) and revenue of $3.48B (up 15.7% YoY), and announced a quarterly dividend of $1.38 ($5.52 annualized, ~1.5% yield).

Vanguard Group Inc. trimmed its position in Huntington Ingalls Industries, Inc. (NYSE:HII - Free Report) by 0.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,845,415 shares of the aerospace company's stock after selling 8,642 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. owned about 12.35% of Huntington Ingalls Industries worth $1,647,780,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in HII. Primoris Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Huntington Ingalls Industries in the third quarter worth $2,260,000. CWA Asset Management Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Huntington Ingalls Industries by 51.2% in the third quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC now owns 24,746 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $7,125,000 after acquiring an additional 8,384 shares during the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp increased its stake in shares of Huntington Ingalls Industries by 31.2% in the third quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 12,560 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $3,502,000 after acquiring an additional 2,990 shares during the last quarter. M&T Bank Corp boosted its holdings in Huntington Ingalls Industries by 205.8% in the fourth quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 40,031 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $13,613,000 after purchasing an additional 26,940 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Strs Ohio boosted its holdings in Huntington Ingalls Industries by 648.6% in the third quarter. Strs Ohio now owns 54,933 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $15,816,000 after purchasing an additional 47,595 shares in the last quarter. 90.46% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Huntington Ingalls Industries

In other news, VP Chad N. Boudreaux sold 4,400 shares of Huntington Ingalls Industries 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 sale, the vice president owned 20,360 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $8,601,082. This trade represents a 17.77% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Eric D. Chewning sold 1,700 shares of Huntington Ingalls Industries 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 in the company, 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. 0.80% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Huntington Ingalls Industries Trading Up 0.6%

Shares of NYSE:HII opened at $364.26 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $14.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.70, a P/E/G ratio of 1.47 and a beta of 0.36. The stock's 50-day moving average is $404.59 and its 200-day moving average is $368.53. Huntington Ingalls Industries, Inc. has a 52-week low of $215.04 and a 52-week high of $460.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a current ratio of 1.13.

Huntington Ingalls Industries (NYSE:HII - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 5th. The aerospace company reported $4.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.72 by $0.32. Huntington Ingalls Industries had a return on equity of 12.28% and a net margin of 4.85%.The company had revenue of $3.48 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.09 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $3.15 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 15.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that Huntington Ingalls Industries, Inc. will post 17.3 earnings per share for the current year.

Huntington Ingalls Industries Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 12th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 29th will be issued a dividend of $1.38 per share. This represents a $5.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 29th. Huntington Ingalls Industries's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 35.91%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on HII. TD Cowen upped their price objective on shares of Huntington Ingalls Industries from $440.00 to $460.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, March 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on shares of Huntington Ingalls Industries from $384.00 to $425.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, January 20th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Huntington Ingalls Industries from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, April 11th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Huntington Ingalls Industries from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a report on Thursday, March 19th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company began coverage on shares of Huntington Ingalls Industries in a report on Wednesday, April 1st. They issued an "equal weight" rating and a $400.00 price objective for the company. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $383.22.

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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