Franklin Resources Inc. Trims Holdings in Huntington Ingalls Industries, Inc. (NYSE:HII)

Franklin Resources Inc. lessened its stake in shares of Huntington Ingalls Industries, Inc. (NYSE:HII - Free Report) by 67.4% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 8,643 shares of the aerospace company's stock after selling 17,830 shares during the quarter. Franklin Resources Inc.'s holdings in Huntington Ingalls Industries were worth $2,254,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in HII. Tidal Investments LLC boosted its holdings in Huntington Ingalls Industries by 17.8% in the third quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 2,040 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $539,000 after acquiring an additional 308 shares in the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new position in shares of Huntington Ingalls Industries in the 3rd quarter worth $153,000. Fulcrum Equity Management lifted its holdings in shares of Huntington Ingalls Industries by 3.9% in the 3rd quarter. Fulcrum Equity Management now owns 2,114 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $559,000 after purchasing an additional 79 shares in the last quarter. Virtu Financial LLC acquired a new position in Huntington Ingalls Industries during the third quarter worth $1,838,000. Finally, Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky raised its holdings in Huntington Ingalls Industries by 2,710.1% during the third quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky now owns 88,435 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $23,381,000 after buying an additional 85,288 shares during the last quarter. 90.46% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently commented on HII. Wolfe Research downgraded shares of Huntington Ingalls Industries from an "outperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Barclays lowered their price objective on Huntington Ingalls Industries from $290.00 to $220.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Alembic Global Advisors cut Huntington Ingalls Industries from an "overweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $210.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Friday, November 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered Huntington Ingalls Industries from an "overweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and increased their price target for the company from $280.00 to $285.00 in a research report on Monday, September 9th. Finally, TD Cowen downgraded shares of Huntington Ingalls Industries from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $180.00 price objective on the stock. in a report on Friday, November 1st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Huntington Ingalls Industries presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $228.89.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP D R. Wyatt sold 400 shares of Huntington Ingalls Industries stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $205.24, for a total value of $82,096.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 19,627 shares in the company, valued at $4,028,245.48. This trade represents a 2.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 0.72% of the company's stock.

Huntington Ingalls Industries Stock Performance

HII traded down $1.41 during trading on Friday, hitting $190.42. 332,362 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 369,874. Huntington Ingalls Industries, Inc. has a one year low of $184.29 and a one year high of $299.50. The stock's fifty day moving average is $204.24 and its 200 day moving average is $241.31. The company has a quick ratio of 0.73, a current ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41. The firm has a market cap of $7.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 0.55.

Huntington Ingalls Industries (NYSE:HII - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The aerospace company reported $2.56 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $3.84 by ($1.28). The company had revenue of $2.75 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.87 billion. Huntington Ingalls Industries had a net margin of 5.99% and a return on equity of 16.89%. The firm's revenue was down 2.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $3.70 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that Huntington Ingalls Industries, Inc. will post 14.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Huntington Ingalls Industries Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 13th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 29th were paid a $1.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 29th. This is a positive change from Huntington Ingalls Industries's previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.84%. Huntington Ingalls Industries's payout ratio is presently 30.49%.

Huntington Ingalls Industries 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.