Delta Air Lines, Inc. $DAL Shares Sold by Highland Capital Management LLC

Highland Capital Management LLC reduced its position in shares of Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL) by 2.1% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 146,656 shares of the transportation company’s stock after selling 3,185 shares during the period. Highland Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Delta Air Lines were worth $7,213,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. JT Stratford LLC lifted its holdings in Delta Air Lines by 1.2% in the 1st quarter. JT Stratford LLC now owns 16,403 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $715,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. one8zero8 LLC raised its position in shares of Delta Air Lines by 1.1% in the first quarter. one8zero8 LLC now owns 21,405 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $933,000 after buying an additional 225 shares during the last quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC lifted its stake in shares of Delta Air Lines by 14.7% in the second quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 1,911 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $94,000 after buying an additional 245 shares in the last quarter. Mainstay Capital Management LLC ADV boosted its position in Delta Air Lines by 5.0% during the first quarter. Mainstay Capital Management LLC ADV now owns 5,199 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $227,000 after acquiring an additional 246 shares during the last quarter. Finally, E&G Advisors LP grew its stake in Delta Air Lines by 1.4% during the 1st quarter. E&G Advisors LP now owns 17,550 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $765,000 after acquiring an additional 250 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 69.93% of the company’s stock.

Delta Air Lines Stock Performance

Shares of DAL stock opened at $57.32 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 0.33 and a current ratio of 0.38. The firm has a market cap of $37.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.31, a P/E/G ratio of 1.53 and a beta of 1.50. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $58.23 and its 200-day moving average price is $51.21. Delta Air Lines, Inc. has a one year low of $34.74 and a one year high of $69.98.

Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 10th. The transportation company reported $2.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.01 by $0.09. Delta Air Lines had a return on equity of 24.86% and a net margin of 7.24%.The company had revenue of $15.51 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.16 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.36 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down .1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Delta Air Lines, Inc. will post 7.63 EPS for the current year.

Delta Air Lines Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, November 6th. Investors of record on Thursday, October 16th will be issued a dividend of $0.1875 per share. This represents a $0.75 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 16th. Delta Air Lines’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 10.87%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Delta Air Lines news, Director Michael P. Huerta sold 2,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.70, for a total transaction of $151,750.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 33,245 shares in the company, valued at $2,017,971.50. This represents a 6.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Edward H. Bastian sold 35,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 632,823 shares in the company, valued at $35,615,278.44. This represents a 5.24% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 136,473 shares of company stock worth $7,663,496 over the last 90 days. 0.88% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group set a $70.00 target price on shares of Delta Air Lines and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday. UBS Group set a $72.00 price objective on Delta Air Lines in a research report on Friday, July 11th. Barclays upped their target price on Delta Air Lines from $58.00 to $65.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, July 11th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price target on Delta Air Lines from $53.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on shares of Delta Air Lines from $60.00 to $67.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, July 11th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and nineteen have given a Buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $67.84.

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.