Principal Financial Group Inc. Trims Holdings in Huntington Ingalls Industries, Inc. $HII

Principal Financial Group Inc. decreased its position in shares of Huntington Ingalls Industries, Inc. (NYSE:HII) by 1.0% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 156,305 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 1,505 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Huntington Ingalls Industries were worth $45,005,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of HII. Korea Investment CORP purchased a new position in shares of Huntington Ingalls Industries during the second quarter valued at about $1,604,000. Primoris Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Huntington Ingalls Industries during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $2,260,000. CWA Asset Management Group LLC increased its stake in Huntington Ingalls Industries by 51.2% in the 3rd quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC now owns 24,746 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $7,125,000 after acquiring an additional 8,384 shares during the last quarter. Markel Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Huntington Ingalls Industries by 13.9% during the 2nd quarter. Markel Group Inc. now owns 20,500 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $4,950,000 after acquiring an additional 2,500 shares in the last quarter. Finally, SS&H Financial Advisors Inc. boosted its position in shares of Huntington Ingalls Industries by 76.7% during the 3rd quarter. SS&H Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 8,120 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $2,338,000 after acquiring an additional 3,525 shares during the last quarter. 90.46% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Huntington Ingalls Industries Stock Performance

Huntington Ingalls Industries stock opened at $413.50 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 1.14 and a quick ratio of 1.06. The firm has a market capitalization of $16.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 0.34. Huntington Ingalls Industries, Inc. has a 1-year low of $158.88 and a 1-year high of $436.14. The company’s 50-day moving average is $366.26 and its 200 day moving average is $312.27.

Huntington Ingalls Industries Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 13th. Investors of record on Friday, February 27th will be issued a dividend of $1.38 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 27th. This represents a $5.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.3%. Huntington Ingalls Industries’s payout ratio is presently 38.12%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Huntington Ingalls Industries

In other news, VP Edmond E. Jr. Hughes sold 850 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $315.44, for a total transaction of $268,124.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president directly owned 8,731 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,754,106.64. The trade was a 8.87% 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, VP Chad N. Boudreaux sold 787 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $314.17, for a total transaction of $247,251.79. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president owned 20,441 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,421,948.97. The trade was a 3.71% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 16,637 shares of company stock valued at $5,331,276 in the last quarter. 0.72% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently weighed in on HII. Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of Huntington Ingalls Industries from $376.00 to $450.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 13th. Melius Research raised shares of Huntington Ingalls Industries from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 5th. TD Cowen upped their target price on shares of Huntington Ingalls Industries from $320.00 to $350.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 31st. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Huntington Ingalls Industries in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut Huntington Ingalls Industries from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, January 31st. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $343.63.

Huntington Ingalls Industries Company Profile

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.