PNC Financial Services Group Inc. Purchases 32,304 Shares of Delta Air Lines, Inc. $DAL

PNC Financial Services Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL) by 25.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 158,269 shares of the transportation company’s stock after purchasing an additional 32,304 shares during the period. PNC Financial Services Group Inc.’s holdings in Delta Air Lines were worth $10,984,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. First Financial Bank Trust Division increased its holdings in Delta Air Lines by 3.3% during the 4th quarter. First Financial Bank Trust Division now owns 4,721 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $328,000 after purchasing an additional 150 shares in the last quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC increased its holdings in Delta Air Lines by 2.4% during the 4th quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 6,472 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $449,000 after purchasing an additional 152 shares in the last quarter. LRI Investments LLC increased its holdings in Delta Air Lines by 3.4% during the 4th quarter. LRI Investments LLC now owns 4,644 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $322,000 after purchasing an additional 154 shares in the last quarter. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Delta Air Lines by 25.4% during the 4th quarter. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 794 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $55,000 after purchasing an additional 161 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Apella Capital LLC increased its holdings in Delta Air Lines by 4.6% during the 4th quarter. Apella Capital LLC now owns 3,717 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $258,000 after purchasing an additional 164 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 69.93% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Delta Air Lines

In related news, EVP Alain Bellemare sold 20,621 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.75, for a total value of $1,500,177.75. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 120,025 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,731,818.75. This trade represents a 14.66% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Edward H. Bastian sold 100,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.26, for a total transaction of $7,026,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 1,363,448 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $95,795,856.48. This trade represents a 6.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 204,925 shares of company stock worth $14,323,395. Insiders own 0.80% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on DAL shares. Citigroup increased their target price on Delta Air Lines from $77.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 9th. Argus increased their price objective on shares of Delta Air Lines from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 9th. TD Cowen increased their price objective on shares of Delta Air Lines from $76.00 to $84.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 9th. Sanford C. Bernstein increased their price objective on shares of Delta Air Lines from $81.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, May 11th. Finally, Evercore restated an “outperform” rating and set a $85.00 price objective on shares of Delta Air Lines in a research note on Friday, April 17th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-three have assigned a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $79.76.

Delta Air Lines Trading Up 0.7%

Delta Air Lines stock opened at $76.16 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $68.23 and a 200-day moving average of $67.20. Delta Air Lines, Inc. has a one year low of $45.28 and a one year high of $77.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 0.42 and a quick ratio of 0.36. The company has a market cap of $50.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.10, a P/E/G ratio of 1.10 and a beta of 1.25.

Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 8th. The transportation company reported $0.64 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.61 by $0.03. Delta Air Lines had a net margin of 6.87% and a return on equity of 20.28%. The company had revenue of $14.20 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.05 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.46 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 9.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts expect that Delta Air Lines, Inc. will post 5.26 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Delta Air Lines Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 4th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 14th will be paid a $0.1875 dividend. This represents a $0.75 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 14th. Delta Air Lines’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 10.93%.

About Delta Air Lines

Delta Air Lines is a major U.S.-based global airline that provides scheduled passenger and cargo air transportation, aircraft maintenance and repair services, and related travel products. Its operations include mainline domestic and international passenger services, a branded regional network operating under the Delta Connection name, dedicated air cargo carriage, and in-house maintenance, repair and overhaul through Delta TechOps. Delta offers a range of cabin products for different customer segments, including premium business-class service on long-haul routes and tiered economy offerings on domestic and international flights, and it markets customer loyalty benefits through the SkyMiles frequent-flyer program.

The carrier operates a mixed fleet of narrow- and wide-body aircraft from multiple U.S.