Wilbanks Smith & Thomas Asset Management LLC Decreases Stock Holdings in Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL)

Wilbanks Smith & Thomas Asset Management LLC reduced its stake in Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL) by 1.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 84,826 shares of the transportation company’s stock after selling 850 shares during the quarter. Wilbanks Smith & Thomas Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Delta Air Lines were worth $3,413,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. grew its stake in shares of Delta Air Lines by 7.7% during the 4th quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. now owns 9,740 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $392,000 after purchasing an additional 697 shares during the period. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. lifted its position in Delta Air Lines by 6.0% in the fourth quarter. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. now owns 65,347 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $2,629,000 after buying an additional 3,685 shares during the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Delta Air Lines by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 978,670 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $39,372,000 after purchasing an additional 16,230 shares during the period. Global Wealth Management Investment Advisory Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Delta Air Lines by 9.3% in the 4th quarter. Global Wealth Management Investment Advisory Inc. now owns 25,795 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $1,038,000 after buying an additional 2,187 shares during the period. Finally, Savant Capital LLC lifted its holdings in Delta Air Lines by 81.5% during the 4th quarter. Savant Capital LLC now owns 16,306 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $656,000 after buying an additional 7,323 shares in the last quarter. 69.93% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, President Glen W. Hauenstein sold 100,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $49.05, for a total value of $4,905,000.00. Following the sale, the president now directly owns 217,584 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,672,495.20. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other Delta Air Lines news, President Glen W. Hauenstein sold 100,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $49.05, for a total transaction of $4,905,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the president now owns 217,584 shares in the company, valued at $10,672,495.20. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Peter W. Carter sold 50,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, April 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.00, for a total transaction of $2,500,000.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 143,328 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,166,400. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 174,073 shares of company stock worth $8,581,207 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.89% of the company’s stock.

Delta Air Lines Trading Up 1.3 %

Shares of NYSE:DAL traded up $0.64 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $50.66. The company had a trading volume of 1,447,727 shares, compared to its average volume of 10,751,954. Delta Air Lines, Inc. has a 12 month low of $30.60 and a 12 month high of $50.74. The company has a current ratio of 0.41, a quick ratio of 0.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.48. The stock has a market cap of $32.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.43, a PEG ratio of 0.74 and a beta of 1.38. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $45.61 and a 200 day simple moving average of $40.52.

Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 11th. The transportation company reported $0.45 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.36 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $13.75 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $12.51 billion. Delta Air Lines had a return on equity of 41.89% and a net margin of 8.48%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.25 EPS. On average, analysts predict that Delta Air Lines, Inc. will post 6.55 EPS for the current year.

Delta Air Lines Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 4th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 14th will be given a dividend of $0.10 per share. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.79%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 13th. Delta Air Lines’s payout ratio is 5.14%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

DAL has been the subject of several research reports. UBS Group started coverage on Delta Air Lines in a report on Wednesday, March 20th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $59.00 target price for the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price target on Delta Air Lines from $50.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $85.00 price objective on shares of Delta Air Lines in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Bank of America lifted their target price on Delta Air Lines from $53.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Finally, Susquehanna boosted their price objective on Delta Air Lines from $47.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 9th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Delta Air Lines presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $58.29.

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.