Vanguard Group Inc. Buys 14,988 Shares of Huntington Ingalls Industries, Inc. (NYSE:HII)

Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Huntington Ingalls Industries, Inc. (NYSE:HII) by 0.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 5,029,322 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after buying an additional 14,988 shares during the quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. owned 12.85% of Huntington Ingalls Industries worth $950,391,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of HII. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in Huntington Ingalls Industries by 503.8% during the 4th quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 157 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 131 shares during the last quarter. Wingate Wealth Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of Huntington Ingalls Industries in the fourth quarter worth approximately $48,000. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC grew its holdings in shares of Huntington Ingalls Industries by 43.4% in the fourth quarter. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC now owns 281 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $53,000 after purchasing an additional 85 shares during the last quarter. True Wealth Design LLC purchased a new position in shares of Huntington Ingalls Industries in the third quarter worth $60,000. Finally, Brooklyn Investment Group bought a new stake in Huntington Ingalls Industries during the 3rd quarter valued at $83,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.46% of the company’s stock.

Huntington Ingalls Industries Price Performance

HII stock opened at $205.22 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $188.48 and a 200 day moving average of $208.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a current ratio of 1.08 and a quick ratio of 1.01. The company has a market cap of $8.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.70, a PEG ratio of 1.15 and a beta of 0.49. Huntington Ingalls Industries, Inc. has a 1 year low of $158.88 and a 1 year high of $291.97.

Huntington Ingalls Industries (NYSE:HII) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The aerospace company reported $3.15 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.28 by ($0.13). Huntington Ingalls Industries had a net margin of 4.77% and a return on equity of 12.81%. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Huntington Ingalls Industries, Inc. will post 13.99 EPS for the current year.

Huntington Ingalls Industries Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 28th were given a $1.35 dividend. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.63%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 28th. Huntington Ingalls Industries’s dividend payout ratio is presently 38.68%.

Insider Transactions at Huntington Ingalls Industries

In other Huntington Ingalls Industries news, CAO Nicolas G. Schuck sold 750 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $189.56, for a total value of $142,170.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 2,884 shares in the company, valued at approximately $546,691.04. This represents a 20.64 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Thomas C. Schievelbein bought 2,120 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 13th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $164.82 per share, with a total value of $349,418.40. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 7,967 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,313,120.94. This represents a 36.26 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 0.72% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on HII shares. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price objective on shares of Huntington Ingalls Industries from $188.00 to $145.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Barclays reduced their price target on Huntington Ingalls Industries from $220.00 to $200.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 10th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $221.22.

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.