Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH Sells 31,246,437 Shares of Southwest Airlines Co. $LUV

Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH cut its holdings in shares of Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV) by 99.9% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 45,712 shares of the airline’s stock after selling 31,246,437 shares during the quarter. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH’s holdings in Southwest Airlines were worth $1,483,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. increased its position in shares of Southwest Airlines by 25.7% in the second quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 88,205 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $2,861,000 after acquiring an additional 18,051 shares during the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers grew its stake in Southwest Airlines by 8.8% in the second quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 133,100 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $4,318,000 after purchasing an additional 10,797 shares in the last quarter. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS grew its stake in Southwest Airlines by 3.1% in the second quarter. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS now owns 139,763 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $4,534,000 after purchasing an additional 4,229 shares in the last quarter. Empower Advisory Group LLC increased its position in shares of Southwest Airlines by 2.8% during the 2nd quarter. Empower Advisory Group LLC now owns 22,488 shares of the airline’s stock worth $730,000 after purchasing an additional 618 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Foundations Investment Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Southwest Airlines by 6.1% during the 2nd quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC now owns 6,547 shares of the airline’s stock worth $212,000 after purchasing an additional 374 shares in the last quarter. 80.82% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Southwest Airlines Stock Performance

NYSE LUV opened at $34.36 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.42, a current ratio of 0.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52. The company has a market capitalization of $17.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 52.85, a P/E/G ratio of 0.75 and a beta of 1.23. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $32.33 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $32.47. Southwest Airlines Co. has a 12-month low of $23.82 and a 12-month high of $37.96.

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 6th. The airline reported ($0.38) EPS for the quarter. The company had revenue of $6.17 billion for the quarter. Southwest Airlines had a return on equity of 6.39% and a net margin of 1.38%. Analysts anticipate that Southwest Airlines Co. will post 1.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Southwest Airlines Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 26th will be given a $0.18 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 26th. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.1%. Southwest Airlines’s payout ratio is presently 110.77%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have issued reports on LUV shares. UBS Group dropped their price target on shares of Southwest Airlines from $35.00 to $33.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 24th. Sanford C. Bernstein upped their target price on shares of Southwest Airlines from $31.00 to $34.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, November 20th. Evercore ISI raised their target price on shares of Southwest Airlines from $34.00 to $35.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research note on Monday, September 29th. Susquehanna lifted their price target on Southwest Airlines from $30.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, October 3rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Southwest Airlines from $35.00 to $36.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Friday, October 24th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have assigned a Hold rating and four have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $33.80.

About Southwest Airlines

Southwest Airlines Co operates as a passenger airline company that provides scheduled air transportation services in the United States and near-international markets. As of December 31, 2023, the company operated a total fleet of 817 Boeing 737 aircraft; and served 121 destinations in 42 states, the District of Columbia, and the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, as well as ten near-international countries, including Mexico, Jamaica, the Bahamas, Aruba, the Dominican Republic, Costa Rica, Belize, Cuba, the Cayman Islands, and Turks and Caicos.