Blair William & Co. IL Decreases Stock Holdings in Huntington Ingalls Industries, Inc. (NYSE:HII)

Blair William & Co. IL reduced its position in Huntington Ingalls Industries, Inc. (NYSE:HII) by 64.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,115 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 1,994 shares during the quarter. Blair William & Co. IL’s holdings in Huntington Ingalls Industries were worth $211,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. River Road Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in Huntington Ingalls Industries in the fourth quarter valued at about $65,215,000. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in Huntington Ingalls Industries by 132.9% in the fourth quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. now owns 420,102 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $79,387,000 after buying an additional 239,688 shares during the last quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. acquired a new stake in Huntington Ingalls Industries during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $36,191,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Huntington Ingalls Industries in the fourth quarter worth $27,881,000. Finally, Sei Investments Co. increased its stake in shares of Huntington Ingalls Industries by 32.4% in the fourth 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 period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.46% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CAO Nicolas G. Schuck sold 750 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $189.56, for a total value of $142,170.00. Following the completion of the sale, 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Thomas C. Schievelbein acquired 2,120 shares of Huntington Ingalls Industries stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 13th. The shares were bought at an average price of $164.82 per share, for a total transaction of $349,418.40. Following the transaction, the director now owns 7,967 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,313,120.94. This represents a 36.26 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.72% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have commented on HII. Barclays lowered their price target on shares of 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. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price target 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. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $221.22.

Huntington Ingalls Industries Stock Performance

HII opened at $184.81 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $187.92 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $206.42. Huntington Ingalls Industries, Inc. has a 52-week low of $158.88 and a 52-week high of $287.56. The company has a market cap of $7.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.24, a PEG ratio of 1.15 and a beta of 0.49. The company has a quick ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58.

Huntington Ingalls Industries (NYSE:HII) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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 net margin of 4.77% and a return on equity of 12.81%. Equities analysts anticipate that Huntington Ingalls Industries, Inc. will post 13.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Huntington Ingalls Industries Dividend Announcement

The company 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. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 28th. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.92%. Huntington Ingalls Industries’s payout ratio is currently 38.68%.

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.