River Global Investors LLP Reduces Stock Holdings in Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL)

River Global Investors LLP reduced its position in Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL) by 0.9% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 39,777 shares of the transportation company’s stock after selling 367 shares during the period. River Global Investors LLP’s holdings in Delta Air Lines were worth $1,601,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Venturi Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Delta Air Lines by 396.6% in the fourth quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 720 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 575 shares in the last quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC purchased a new position in shares of Delta Air Lines during the 3rd quarter valued at $35,000. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. grew its position in shares of Delta Air Lines by 1,302.1% during the 3rd quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 1,318 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $49,000 after purchasing an additional 1,224 shares in the last quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV increased its holdings in shares of Delta Air Lines by 147.7% in the fourth quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 1,434 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $58,000 after purchasing an additional 855 shares during the period. Finally, Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. bought a new stake in Delta Air Lines during the third quarter valued at $56,000. 69.93% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Peter W. Carter sold 50,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, April 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.00, for a total transaction of $2,500,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 143,328 shares in the company, valued at $7,166,400. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, EVP Alain Bellemare sold 24,073 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $48.86, for a total value of $1,176,206.78. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 141,451 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,911,295.86. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Peter W. Carter sold 50,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, April 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.00, for a total value of $2,500,000.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 143,328 shares in the company, valued at $7,166,400. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 174,073 shares of company stock worth $8,581,207. Insiders own 0.89% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

DAL has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. UBS Group assumed coverage on Delta Air Lines in a research note on Wednesday, March 20th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $59.00 target price on the stock. Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $85.00 target price on shares of Delta Air Lines in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. StockNews.com cut Delta Air Lines from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, February 22nd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price target on shares of Delta Air Lines from $50.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Finally, Susquehanna increased their target price on shares of Delta Air Lines from $47.00 to $54.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 9th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $58.29.

Delta Air Lines Trading Up 1.0 %

Delta Air Lines stock traded up $0.52 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $51.55. 9,165,946 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 12,487,077. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.48, a current ratio of 0.41 and a quick ratio of 0.36. Delta Air Lines, Inc. has a 52-week low of $30.60 and a 52-week high of $51.65. The firm has a market capitalization of $32.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.63, a P/E/G ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 1.38. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $45.98 and its 200 day moving average price is $40.81.

Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL) last announced 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. Delta Air Lines had a net margin of 8.48% and a return on equity of 41.89%. The company had revenue of $13.75 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $12.51 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.25 earnings per share. Delta Air Lines’s quarterly revenue was up 7.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts anticipate that Delta Air Lines, Inc. will post 6.61 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Delta Air Lines Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 4th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.10 per share. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.78%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 13th. Delta Air Lines’s dividend payout ratio is 5.14%.

Delta Air Lines Company 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.