Prudential Financial Inc. Raises Holdings in Huntington Ingalls Industries, Inc. (NYSE:HII)

Prudential Financial Inc. lifted its stake in Huntington Ingalls Industries, Inc. (NYSE:HII) by 5.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 30,608 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,529 shares during the quarter. Prudential Financial Inc.’s holdings in Huntington Ingalls Industries were worth $5,784,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Huntington Ingalls Industries by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,029,322 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $950,391,000 after purchasing an additional 14,988 shares in the last quarter. Stevens Capital Management LP acquired a new position in shares of Huntington Ingalls Industries in the 4th quarter valued at $393,000. LPL Financial LLC raised its stake in Huntington Ingalls Industries by 88.3% in the 4th quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 118,183 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $22,333,000 after acquiring an additional 55,436 shares during the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. raised its stake in Huntington Ingalls Industries by 32.4% in the 4th quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 445,926 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $84,269,000 after acquiring an additional 109,134 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Quantbot Technologies LP acquired a new stake in Huntington Ingalls Industries during the 4th quarter worth about $7,777,000. 90.46% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Huntington Ingalls Industries Price Performance

Shares of NYSE HII opened at $205.22 on Monday. 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 firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $188.48 and its 200-day simple moving average is $208.26. Huntington Ingalls Industries, Inc. has a 12 month low of $158.88 and a 12 month high of $291.97. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.70, a PEG ratio of 1.15 and a beta of 0.49.

Huntington Ingalls Industries (NYSE:HII) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The aerospace company reported $3.15 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.28 by ($0.13). Huntington Ingalls Industries had a return on equity of 12.81% and a net margin of 4.77%. Analysts expect that Huntington Ingalls Industries, Inc. will post 13.99 EPS for the current year.

Huntington Ingalls Industries Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Thomas C. Schievelbein bought 2,120 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 13th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $164.82 per share, with a total value of $349,418.40. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 7,967 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,313,120.94. This trade represents a 36.26 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CAO Nicolas G. Schuck sold 750 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $189.56, for a total transaction of $142,170.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 2,884 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $546,691.04. This trade represents a 20.64 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.72% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

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.