Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD Has $5.52 Million Stock Position in Alaska Air Group, Inc. (NYSE:ALK)

Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its holdings in shares of Alaska Air Group, Inc. (NYSE:ALK) by 15.2% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 85,229 shares of the transportation company’s stock after acquiring an additional 11,216 shares during the quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD’s holdings in Alaska Air Group were worth $5,519,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System raised its holdings in Alaska Air Group by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System now owns 49,905 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $3,231,000 after acquiring an additional 147 shares during the period. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund increased its position in Alaska Air Group by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 29,816 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $1,931,000 after buying an additional 160 shares during the period. Avior Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Alaska Air Group by 44.8% during the fourth quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC now owns 588 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $38,000 after buying an additional 182 shares in the last quarter. Savant Capital LLC boosted its position in shares of Alaska Air Group by 3.4% in the fourth quarter. Savant Capital LLC now owns 6,284 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $407,000 after acquiring an additional 206 shares during the period. Finally, Mutual of America Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Alaska Air Group by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC now owns 19,229 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $1,245,000 after acquiring an additional 254 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 81.90% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have weighed in on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on shares of Alaska Air Group from $70.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Alaska Air Group from $85.00 to $89.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. UBS Group lowered Alaska Air Group from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their price objective for the stock from $75.00 to $54.00 in a research note on Monday, April 7th. TD Cowen upped their target price on Alaska Air Group from $54.00 to $62.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Finally, Barclays decreased their price target on Alaska Air Group from $62.00 to $55.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 25th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $65.92.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Alaska Air Group news, EVP Andrew R. Harrison sold 6,600 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $76.28, for a total transaction of $503,448.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 34,030 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,595,808.40. This trade represents a 16.24 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, COO Muehlen Constance E. Von sold 22,157 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.12, for a total value of $1,664,433.84. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 20,026 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,504,353.12. The trade was a 52.53 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 51,650 shares of company stock worth $3,901,798 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Alaska Air Group Stock Up 5.7 %

ALK stock opened at $46.93 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.43 and a beta of 1.41. The company has a current ratio of 0.61, a quick ratio of 0.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $51.24 and a 200-day moving average price of $57.93. Alaska Air Group, Inc. has a 12 month low of $32.62 and a 12 month high of $78.08.

Alaska Air Group (NYSE:ALK) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The transportation company reported ($0.77) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.72) by ($0.05). The company had revenue of $3.14 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.19 billion. Alaska Air Group had a net margin of 3.37% and a return on equity of 14.66%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 40.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned ($0.92) EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Alaska Air Group, Inc. will post 6.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

About Alaska Air Group

Alaska Air Group, Inc, through its subsidiaries, operates airlines. It operates through three segments: Mainline, Regional, and Horizon. The company offers scheduled air transportation services on Boeing jet aircraft for passengers and cargo in the United States, and in parts of Canada, Mexico, Costa Rica, Belize, Guatemala, and the Bahamas; and for passengers across a shorter distance network within the United States, Canada, and Mexico.