Private Advisor Group LLC Increases Position in Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL)

Private Advisor Group LLC grew its holdings in Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL) by 3.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 171,249 shares of the transportation company’s stock after purchasing an additional 5,985 shares during the quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC’s holdings in Delta Air Lines were worth $6,889,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Jennison Associates LLC increased its position in shares of Delta Air Lines by 145.2% during the fourth quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 2,618,627 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $105,347,000 after acquiring an additional 1,550,770 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Delta Air Lines by 27.0% in the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 4,813,848 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $178,112,000 after buying an additional 1,022,957 shares during the last quarter. Morgan Stanley grew its stake in shares of Delta Air Lines by 8.7% in the 3rd quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 10,839,122 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $401,048,000 after purchasing an additional 865,746 shares during the last quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Delta Air Lines by 541.2% in the 3rd quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 998,156 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $36,932,000 after buying an additional 842,487 shares during the period. Finally, U S Global Investors Inc. raised its holdings in Delta Air Lines by 21.1% during the fourth quarter. U S Global Investors Inc. now owns 4,434,509 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $178,400,000 after purchasing an additional 773,636 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 69.93% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Delta Air Lines news, EVP Alain Bellemare sold 24,073 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.86, for a total transaction of $1,176,206.78. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 141,451 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,911,295.86. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other Delta Air Lines news, President Glen W. Hauenstein sold 100,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, April 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $49.05, for a total value of $4,905,000.00. Following the transaction, the president now directly owns 217,584 shares in the company, valued at $10,672,495.20. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Alain Bellemare sold 24,073 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.86, for a total transaction of $1,176,206.78. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 141,451 shares in the company, valued at $6,911,295.86. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 174,073 shares of company stock worth $8,581,207. 0.89% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Delta Air Lines Stock Up 0.1 %

Shares of Delta Air Lines stock traded up $0.07 on Wednesday, hitting $52.27. The company had a trading volume of 324,679 shares, compared to its average volume of 10,625,362. Delta Air Lines, Inc. has a twelve month low of $30.60 and a twelve month high of $53.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.48, a current ratio of 0.41 and a quick ratio of 0.36. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $46.41 and a 200-day moving average of $41.09. The firm has a market capitalization of $33.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.71, a P/E/G ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 1.38.

Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 11th. The transportation company reported $0.45 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.36 by $0.09. Delta Air Lines had a return on equity of 41.89% and a net margin of 8.48%. The company had revenue of $13.75 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $12.51 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.25 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 7.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that Delta Air Lines, Inc. will post 6.61 earnings per share for the current year.

Delta Air Lines Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 4th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 14th will be given a $0.10 dividend. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.77%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 13th. Delta Air Lines’s dividend payout ratio is presently 5.14%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently commented on DAL shares. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $85.00 price objective on shares of Delta Air Lines in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Delta Air Lines from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, February 22nd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price target on Delta Air Lines from $50.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Susquehanna increased their target price on shares of Delta Air Lines from $47.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 9th. Finally, Bank of America increased their target price on shares of Delta Air Lines from $53.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Delta Air Lines has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $58.29.

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.