Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL) Shares Sold by AIA Group Ltd

AIA Group Ltd lowered its holdings in shares of Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL) by 16.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 90,772 shares of the transportation company’s stock after selling 17,284 shares during the period. AIA Group Ltd’s holdings in Delta Air Lines were worth $5,492,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of DAL. FSB Premier Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Delta Air Lines during the fourth quarter worth about $202,000. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Delta Air Lines by 13.4% in the 4th quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 84,999 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $5,142,000 after purchasing an additional 10,024 shares during the last quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Delta Air Lines by 3.0% in the fourth quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 23,738 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $1,458,000 after purchasing an additional 688 shares during the period. L & S Advisors Inc purchased a new stake in shares of Delta Air Lines during the fourth quarter worth approximately $4,534,000. Finally, Intrust Bank NA lifted its holdings in shares of Delta Air Lines by 6.9% during the fourth quarter. Intrust Bank NA now owns 21,073 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $1,275,000 after purchasing an additional 1,351 shares during the period. 69.93% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Delta Air Lines Stock Performance

Shares of DAL opened at $43.80 on Monday. Delta Air Lines, Inc. has a 12-month low of $37.29 and a 12-month high of $69.98. The stock has a market cap of $28.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.22, a PEG ratio of 0.75 and a beta of 1.34. The company has a current ratio of 0.37, a quick ratio of 0.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92. The company has a 50-day moving average of $58.94 and a two-hundred day moving average of $58.39.

Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 10th. The transportation company reported $1.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.76 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $15.56 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.20 billion. Delta Air Lines had a return on equity of 30.41% and a net margin of 5.61%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 9.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.28 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Delta Air Lines, Inc. will post 7.63 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Delta Air Lines Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 20th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 27th were given a dividend of $0.15 per share. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.37%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 27th. Delta Air Lines’s dividend payout ratio is presently 11.26%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Delta Air Lines

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have commented on DAL. TD Cowen upped their price objective on shares of Delta Air Lines from $78.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Susquehanna raised their price objective on shares of Delta Air Lines from $59.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Barclays dropped their target price on Delta Air Lines from $90.00 to $80.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. UBS Group reduced their price target on Delta Air Lines from $90.00 to $77.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, Citigroup dropped their price objective on Delta Air Lines from $80.00 to $72.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $76.29.

Delta Air Lines 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.