American Century Companies Inc. Sells 254,489 Shares of Huntington Ingalls Industries, Inc. (NYSE:HII)

American Century Companies Inc. reduced its position in shares of Huntington Ingalls Industries, Inc. (NYSE:HII - Free Report) by 65.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 137,146 shares of the aerospace company's stock after selling 254,489 shares during the quarter. American Century Companies Inc. owned 0.35% of Huntington Ingalls Industries worth $25,917,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in HII. River Road Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in Huntington Ingalls Industries in the 4th quarter worth approximately $65,215,000. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Huntington Ingalls Industries by 132.9% in the 4th quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. now owns 420,102 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $79,387,000 after buying an additional 239,688 shares during the last quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. purchased a new position in shares of Huntington Ingalls Industries in the 4th quarter worth $36,191,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Huntington Ingalls Industries in the fourth quarter worth $27,881,000. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its position in Huntington Ingalls Industries by 45.3% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 305,947 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $80,886,000 after acquiring an additional 95,324 shares during the last quarter. 90.46% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have issued reports on HII shares. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their target price on 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. Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of Huntington Ingalls Industries from $220.00 to $200.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Two equities research 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, Huntington Ingalls Industries has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $221.22.

Huntington Ingalls Industries Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:HII traded down $5.89 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $199.05. 690,633 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 488,174. Huntington Ingalls Industries, Inc. has a 52 week low of $158.88 and a 52 week high of $289.26. The firm has a market cap of $7.81 billion, a PE ratio of 14.26, a PEG ratio of 1.15 and a beta of 0.49. The company's 50 day moving average price is $188.27 and its 200-day moving average price is $207.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a current ratio of 1.08 and a quick ratio of 1.01.

Huntington Ingalls Industries (NYSE:HII - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The aerospace company reported $3.15 EPS 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%. On average, equities analysts expect that Huntington Ingalls Industries, Inc. will post 13.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Huntington Ingalls Industries Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 28th were issued a dividend of $1.35 per share. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.71%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 28th. Huntington Ingalls Industries's dividend payout ratio is presently 38.68%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

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.