Dimensional Fund Advisors LP Sells 212,264 Shares of Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL)

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP cut its position in shares of Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL) by 1.9% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 10,877,945 shares of the transportation company’s stock after selling 212,264 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP owned about 1.67% of Delta Air Lines worth $474,257,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in Delta Air Lines by 414.4% in the fourth quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC now owns 535 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 431 shares during the last quarter. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT acquired a new position in Delta Air Lines in the first quarter valued at about $33,000. Continuum Advisory LLC lifted its stake in Delta Air Lines by 44.2% in the fourth quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 584 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 179 shares during the period. Hara Capital LLC acquired a new position in Delta Air Lines in the first quarter valued at about $35,000. Finally, N.E.W. Advisory Services LLC acquired a new position in Delta Air Lines in the first quarter valued at about $40,000. 69.93% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Delta Air Lines Stock Up 2.2%

DAL stock opened at $60.27 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 0.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $52.64 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $51.28. The company has a market cap of $39.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.73, a P/E/G ratio of 1.84 and a beta of 1.56. Delta Air Lines, Inc. has a twelve month low of $34.74 and a twelve month high of $69.98.

Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 10th. The transportation company reported $2.10 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.01 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $15,507,000 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.16 billion. Delta Air Lines had a return on equity of 24.86% and a net margin of 7.24%. The business’s revenue was down .1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.36 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that Delta Air Lines, Inc. will post 7.63 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Delta Air Lines Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 21st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 31st will be paid a dividend of $0.1875 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 31st. This represents a $0.75 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.2%. This is an increase from Delta Air Lines’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.15. Delta Air Lines’s dividend payout ratio is presently 10.87%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Edward H. Bastian sold 35,000 shares of Delta Air Lines stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $56.28, for a total transaction of $1,969,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 632,823 shares in the company, valued at approximately $35,615,278.44. The trade was a 5.24% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Alain Bellemare sold 45,423 shares of Delta Air Lines stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.56, for a total value of $2,523,701.88. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 131,731 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,318,974.36. This represents a 25.64% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 133,973 shares of company stock valued at $7,511,746. 0.88% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their target price on Delta Air Lines from $53.00 to $63.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. TD Cowen increased their target price on Delta Air Lines from $55.00 to $66.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Delta Air Lines from $66.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, July 11th. BNP Paribas Exane raised their price target on Delta Air Lines from $58.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, July 11th. Finally, Bernstein Bank raised their price target on Delta Air Lines from $60.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, July 11th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Delta Air Lines has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $66.21.

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.