Russell Investments Group Ltd. Boosts Stake in Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL)

Russell Investments Group Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL) by 0.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 1,268,313 shares of the transportation company’s stock after acquiring an additional 6,827 shares during the quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd.’s holdings in Delta Air Lines were worth $51,039,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of DAL. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. increased its position in shares of Delta Air Lines by 495.7% during the third quarter. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. now owns 685 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 570 shares during the period. Venturi Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Delta Air Lines by 396.6% during the fourth quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 720 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 575 shares in the last quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new position in shares of Delta Air Lines during the third quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. boosted its stake in Delta Air Lines by 1,302.1% in the third quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 1,318 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $49,000 after acquiring an additional 1,224 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. acquired a new stake in Delta Air Lines in the third quarter valued at approximately $56,000. 69.93% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Edward H. Bastian sold 71,840 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $39.20, for a total transaction of $2,816,128.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 428,768 shares in the company, valued at $16,807,705.60. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other Delta Air Lines news, CEO Edward H. Bastian sold 71,840 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $39.20, for a total value of $2,816,128.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 428,768 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,807,705.60. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Alain Bellemare sold 24,073 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, 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. Insiders have sold a total of 195,913 shares of company stock worth $8,897,335 over the last 90 days. 0.89% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have weighed in on DAL. TheStreet upgraded shares of Delta Air Lines from a “c+” rating to a “b-” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 4th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price objective on shares of Delta Air Lines from $50.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Susquehanna lifted their price objective on shares of Delta Air Lines from $47.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 9th. UBS Group began coverage on shares of Delta Air Lines in a research note on Wednesday, March 20th. They set a “buy” rating and a $59.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Bank of America lifted their price objective on shares of Delta Air Lines from $53.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Delta Air Lines has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $58.29.

Delta Air Lines Trading Up 0.1 %

Shares of Delta Air Lines stock opened at $49.92 on Monday. Delta Air Lines, Inc. has a 1 year low of $30.60 and a 1 year high of $50.24. 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 firm has a fifty day moving average price of $45.03 and a 200 day moving average price of $40.24. The stock has a market cap of $32.21 billion, a PE ratio of 6.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.75 and a beta of 1.43.

Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL) last announced its 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 business had revenue of $13.75 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $12.51 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.25 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that Delta Air Lines, Inc. will post 6.52 earnings per share for the current year.

Delta Air Lines Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced 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. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 13th. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.80%. Delta Air Lines’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 5.14%.

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.