Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL) Shares Sold by Emerald Advisers LLC

Emerald Advisers LLC trimmed its holdings in Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL) by 50.8% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,209 shares of the transportation company’s stock after selling 2,280 shares during the quarter. Emerald Advisers LLC’s holdings in Delta Air Lines were worth $96,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of DAL. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in Delta Air Lines by 414.4% during the fourth quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC now owns 535 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 431 shares in the last quarter. Graney & King LLC purchased a new stake in Delta Air Lines during the fourth quarter valued at about $34,000. Continuum Advisory LLC lifted its stake in Delta Air Lines by 44.2% during 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 in the last quarter. Hara Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Delta Air Lines during the first quarter valued at about $35,000. Finally, Crowley Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Delta Air Lines during the fourth quarter valued at about $45,000. 69.93% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Delta Air Lines

In other Delta Air Lines news, EVP Alain Bellemare sold 45,423 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.56, for a total transaction of $2,523,701.88. Following the completion of the sale, 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.96% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Delta Air Lines Stock Up 2.7%

Shares of Delta Air Lines stock opened at $58.17 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $37.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.43, a PEG ratio of 2.43 and a beta of 1.49. 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 stock has a 50 day moving average price of $49.68 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $52.58. Delta Air Lines, Inc. has a 12-month low of $34.74 and a 12-month 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, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.01 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $15,507,000 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.16 billion. Delta Air Lines had a return on equity of 24.86% and a net margin of 7.24%. The company’s revenue was down .1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.36 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that Delta Air Lines, Inc. will post 7.63 earnings per share for the current year.

Delta Air Lines Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 21st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 31st will be given a dividend of $0.1875 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 31st. This represents a $0.75 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.29%. This is a boost from Delta Air Lines’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.15. Delta Air Lines’s dividend payout ratio is presently 8.70%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have commented on the stock. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Delta Air Lines from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Susquehanna set a $65.00 price objective on shares of Delta Air Lines and gave the company a “positive” rating in a research note on Friday. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Delta Air Lines from $88.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “hold” rating and issued a $46.00 target price (down previously from $85.00) on shares of Delta Air Lines in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Delta Air Lines in a report on Friday. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Delta Air Lines has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $67.77.

Delta Air Lines Company Profile

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.