Meridian Wealth Management LLC Cuts Stock Holdings in Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL)

Meridian Wealth Management LLC reduced its position in shares of Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL) by 6.5% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 31,205 shares of the transportation company’s stock after selling 2,167 shares during the period. Meridian Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Delta Air Lines were worth $1,883,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of DAL. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. grew its position in shares of Delta Air Lines by 5.4% in the third quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. now owns 268,636 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $13,644,000 after purchasing an additional 13,802 shares in the last quarter. KBC Group NV grew its position in shares of Delta Air Lines by 143.7% in the third quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 56,611 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $2,876,000 after purchasing an additional 33,378 shares in the last quarter. Olstein Capital Management L.P. grew its position in shares of Delta Air Lines by 32.6% in the third quarter. Olstein Capital Management L.P. now owns 175,000 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $8,888,000 after purchasing an additional 43,000 shares in the last quarter. Donoghue Forlines LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Delta Air Lines in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $2,036,000. Finally, River Road Asset Management LLC grew its position in shares of Delta Air Lines by 22.8% in the third quarter. River Road Asset Management LLC now owns 130,608 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $6,634,000 after purchasing an additional 24,249 shares in the last quarter. 69.93% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

DAL has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. StockNews.com upgraded Delta Air Lines from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on Delta Air Lines from $58.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 11th. Susquehanna upped their price objective on Delta Air Lines from $59.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price objective on Delta Air Lines from $60.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Finally, Barclays upped their price objective on Delta Air Lines from $60.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, November 14th. Fourteen research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $78.22.

Delta Air Lines Stock Down 2.9 %

NYSE:DAL opened at $58.36 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 0.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $64.26 and its two-hundred day moving average is $57.47. Delta Air Lines, Inc. has a 52 week low of $37.29 and a 52 week high of $69.98. The stock has a market capitalization of $37.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.75 and a beta of 1.36.

Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 10th. The transportation company reported $1.85 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.76 by $0.09. Delta Air Lines had a return on equity of 30.41% and a net margin of 5.61%. The business had revenue of $15.56 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.20 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.28 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 9.4% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate that Delta Air Lines, Inc. will post 7.63 EPS for the current year.

Delta Air Lines Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 20th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 27th will be given a dividend of $0.15 per share. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.03%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 27th. Delta Air Lines’s dividend payout ratio is currently 11.26%.

Insider Transactions at Delta Air Lines

In related news, EVP Rahul D. Samant sold 38,023 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.89, for a total value of $2,467,312.47. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 52,789 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,425,478.21. This represents a 41.87 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Edward H. Bastian sold 91,710 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.85, for a total value of $6,405,943.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 439,819 shares in the company, valued at $30,721,357.15. This trade represents a 17.25 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 162,886 shares of company stock valued at $11,116,463. 0.96% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Delta Air Lines Company Profile

Delta Air Lines, Inc provides scheduled air transportation for passengers and cargo in the United States and internationally. The company operates through two segments, Airline and Refinery. Its domestic network centered on core hubs in Atlanta, Minneapolis-St. Paul, Detroit, and Salt Lake City, as well as coastal hub positions in Boston, Los Angeles, New York-LaGuardia, New York-JFK, and Seattle; and international network centered on hubs and market presence in Amsterdam, Bogota, Lima, Mexico City, London-Heathrow, Paris-Charles de Gaulle, Sao Paulo, Seoul-Incheon, and Tokyo.