Ascent Wealth Partners LLC Acquires New Holdings in Huntington Ingalls Industries, Inc. $HII

Ascent Wealth Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Huntington Ingalls Industries, Inc. (NYSE:HII) in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund bought 11,293 shares of the aerospace company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,290,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. M&T Bank Corp raised its stake in Huntington Ingalls Industries by 205.8% during the 4th quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 40,031 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $13,613,000 after acquiring an additional 26,940 shares in the last quarter. Chase Investment Counsel Corp bought a new position in shares of Huntington Ingalls Industries in the fourth quarter worth $4,634,000. Builder Investment Group Inc. ADV acquired a new position in shares of Huntington Ingalls Industries during the fourth quarter valued at $6,815,000. Gradient Investments LLC increased its holdings in shares of Huntington Ingalls Industries by 662.3% during the fourth quarter. Gradient Investments LLC now owns 44,806 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $15,237,000 after purchasing an additional 38,928 shares during the period. Finally, Rothschild Investment LLC raised its stake in shares of Huntington Ingalls Industries by 478.1% during the fourth quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC now owns 5,295 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $1,801,000 after purchasing an additional 4,379 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 90.46% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Edmond E. Jr. Hughes sold 3,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $319.58, for a total transaction of $1,118,530.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president directly owned 8,391 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,681,595.78. This trade represents a 29.43% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.80% of the company’s stock.

Huntington Ingalls Industries Stock Down 0.6%

Shares of Huntington Ingalls Industries stock opened at $269.33 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 1.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52. Huntington Ingalls Industries, Inc. has a 12-month low of $250.91 and a 12-month high of $460.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.61 billion, a PE ratio of 17.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.15 and a beta of 0.25. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $298.06 and its 200-day moving average is $363.78.

Huntington Ingalls Industries (NYSE:HII) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The aerospace company reported $3.79 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.70 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $3.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.02 billion. Huntington Ingalls Industries had a return on equity of 12.05% and a net margin of 4.71%.Huntington Ingalls Industries’s revenue was up 13.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $3.79 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that Huntington Ingalls Industries, Inc. will post 17.31 earnings per share for the current year.

Huntington Ingalls Industries Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 12th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 29th were paid a $1.38 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 29th. This represents a $5.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.0%. Huntington Ingalls Industries’s dividend payout ratio is 35.91%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on HII shares. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Huntington Ingalls Industries from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, May 18th. Citigroup lowered their target price on shares of Huntington Ingalls Industries from $405.00 to $349.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 1st. Wells Fargo & Company began coverage on shares of Huntington Ingalls Industries in a research report on Wednesday, April 1st. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $400.00 price target on the stock. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Huntington Ingalls Industries from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Finally, TD Cowen lowered their price objective on shares of Huntington Ingalls Industries from $420.00 to $360.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, July 13th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Huntington Ingalls Industries has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $374.00.

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.