Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL) Shares Bought by Russell Investments Group Ltd.

Russell Investments Group Ltd. grew its stake in Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL) by 1.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,635,583 shares of the transportation company’s stock after purchasing an additional 37,967 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd. owned approximately 0.41% of Delta Air Lines worth $159,456,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of DAL. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Delta Air Lines by 8.7% during the 4th quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 481,107 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $29,107,000 after buying an additional 38,423 shares in the last quarter. Perennial Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Delta Air Lines during the 4th quarter worth $207,000. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Delta Air Lines in the fourth quarter valued at about $1,896,000. Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in Delta Air Lines in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $3,275,000. Finally, Islay Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Delta Air Lines by 4,476.4% in the 4th quarter. Islay Capital Management LLC now owns 12,402 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $750,000 after buying an additional 12,131 shares in the last quarter. 69.93% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Rahul D. Samant sold 17,970 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.08, for a total value of $1,241,367.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 35,889 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,479,212.12. This represents a 33.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Edward H. Bastian sold 91,710 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.85, for a total value of $6,405,943.50. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 439,819 shares in the company, valued at approximately $30,721,357.15. The trade was a 17.25 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 162,886 shares of company stock valued at $11,116,463 in the last quarter. Insiders own 0.96% of the company’s stock.

Delta Air Lines Trading Down 4.1 %

Shares of DAL opened at $37.13 on Friday. Delta Air Lines, Inc. has a one year low of $34.74 and a one year high of $69.98. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $56.32 and a 200 day moving average price of $58.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.32 and a current ratio of 0.37. The company has a market capitalization of $24.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.97, a P/E/G ratio of 0.75 and a beta of 1.23.

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

Delta Air Lines Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 20th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 27th were paid a dividend of $0.15 per share. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.62%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 27th. Delta Air Lines’s payout ratio is currently 11.26%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

DAL has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their target price on Delta Air Lines from $83.00 to $60.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. Barclays cut their price target on Delta Air Lines from $90.00 to $80.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Bank of America dropped their target price on Delta Air Lines from $65.00 to $56.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. TD Cowen raised their price target on Delta Air Lines from $78.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Delta Air Lines from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 25th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Delta Air Lines has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $71.49.

About Delta Air Lines

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.