Highland Capital Management LLC Has $9.88 Million Stock Holdings in Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL)

Highland Capital Management LLC lessened its stake in Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL) by 8.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 163,315 shares of the transportation company’s stock after selling 14,174 shares during the quarter. Highland Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Delta Air Lines were worth $9,881,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in DAL. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. boosted its position in 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 buying an additional 13,802 shares in the last quarter. KBC Group NV lifted its stake in shares of Delta Air Lines by 143.7% in the 3rd quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 56,611 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $2,876,000 after acquiring an additional 33,378 shares during the last quarter. Olstein Capital Management L.P. boosted its holdings in shares of Delta Air Lines by 32.6% during the 3rd quarter. Olstein Capital Management L.P. now owns 175,000 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $8,888,000 after acquiring an additional 43,000 shares in the last quarter. Donoghue Forlines LLC bought a new stake in Delta Air Lines during the 4th quarter worth $2,036,000. Finally, River Road Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in Delta Air Lines by 22.8% in the 3rd quarter. River Road Asset Management LLC now owns 130,608 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $6,634,000 after purchasing an additional 24,249 shares in the last quarter. 69.93% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Delta Air Lines

In related news, SVP William C. Carroll sold 8,400 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $66.02, for a total transaction of $554,568.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 19,756 shares in the company, valued at $1,304,291.12. The trade was a 29.83 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Edward H. Bastian sold 91,710 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 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 sold 139,429 shares of company stock valued at $9,339,519 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.96% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

DAL has been the topic of several recent research reports. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Delta Air Lines from $60.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. StockNews.com upgraded Delta Air Lines from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Delta Air Lines from $68.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, October 11th. TD Cowen raised their price objective on Delta Air Lines from $78.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $83.00 target price on shares of Delta Air Lines in a report on Friday, November 15th. Fourteen analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $78.22.

Delta Air Lines Stock Up 1.1 %

DAL stock opened at $68.37 on Thursday. Delta Air Lines, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $37.29 and a fifty-two week high of $69.98. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $63.32 and a 200-day moving average of $53.60. The company has a market capitalization of $44.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.83, a PEG ratio of 0.79 and a beta of 1.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.32 and a current ratio of 0.37.

Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 10th. The transportation company reported $1.85 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.76 by $0.09. Delta Air Lines had a net margin of 5.61% and a return on equity of 30.43%. The company had revenue of $15.56 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.20 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.28 EPS. Delta Air Lines’s revenue was up 9.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Delta Air Lines, Inc. will post 7.67 earnings per share for the current year.

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.