Commonwealth Equity Services LLC Reduces Stock Holdings in Huntington Ingalls Industries, Inc. $HII

Commonwealth Equity Services LLC reduced its stake in shares of Huntington Ingalls Industries, Inc. (NYSE:HII) by 9.7% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 39,991 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 4,283 shares during the quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC owned approximately 0.10% of Huntington Ingalls Industries worth $11,514,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of HII. Maverick Capital Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Huntington Ingalls Industries during the second quarter valued at about $93,332,000. Sound Shore Management Inc CT bought a new stake in Huntington Ingalls Industries during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $80,047,000. Orion Porfolio Solutions LLC grew its holdings in shares of Huntington Ingalls Industries by 3,576.2% during the 2nd quarter. Orion Porfolio Solutions LLC now owns 195,759 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $47,268,000 after acquiring an additional 190,434 shares during the period. Sunriver Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Huntington Ingalls Industries in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $31,532,000. Finally, MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. raised its position in shares of Huntington Ingalls Industries by 58.2% in the 2nd quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 278,080 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $67,145,000 after acquiring an additional 102,315 shares in the last quarter. 90.46% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Christopher D. Kastner sold 15,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $321.06, for a total value of $4,815,900.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 68,139 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $21,876,707.34. This represents a 18.04% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, VP Edmond E. Jr. Hughes sold 850 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $315.44, for a total value of $268,124.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president owned 8,731 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,754,106.64. This represents a 8.87% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 17,103 shares of company stock valued at $5,477,768. Insiders own 0.86% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

HII has been the topic of several recent research reports. TD Cowen upped their price target on Huntington Ingalls Industries from $320.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 31st. Citigroup assumed coverage on shares of Huntington Ingalls Industries in a research report on Friday, December 12th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $376.00 target price on the stock. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Huntington Ingalls Industries from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Huntington Ingalls Industries in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Melius raised shares of Huntington Ingalls Industries from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 5th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Huntington Ingalls Industries has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $325.75.

Huntington Ingalls Industries Stock Performance

Shares of Huntington Ingalls Industries stock opened at $387.37 on Monday. Huntington Ingalls Industries, Inc. has a 1 year low of $158.88 and a 1 year high of $391.04. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $327.66 and its 200 day moving average is $291.36. The stock has a market cap of $15.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.75, a PEG ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 0.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 1.14 and a quick ratio of 1.06.

Huntington Ingalls Industries (NYSE:HII) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 30th. The aerospace company reported $3.68 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.29 by $0.39. The business had revenue of $3.19 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.95 billion. Huntington Ingalls Industries had a net margin of 4.74% and a return on equity of 11.79%. Huntington Ingalls Industries’s revenue was up 16.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.56 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Huntington Ingalls Industries, Inc. will post 13.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Huntington Ingalls Industries Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 12th. Investors of record on Friday, November 28th were issued a $1.38 dividend. This represents a $5.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.4%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 28th. This is an increase from Huntington Ingalls Industries’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.35. Huntington Ingalls Industries’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 38.12%.

About Huntington Ingalls Industries

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.