Delta Air Lines, Inc. $DAL Shares Sold by LSV Asset Management

LSV Asset Management decreased its stake in shares of Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL) by 3.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,331,717 shares of the transportation company’s stock after selling 116,200 shares during the period. LSV Asset Management’s holdings in Delta Air Lines were worth $231,221,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. AlphaQuest LLC boosted its position in shares of Delta Air Lines by 90.6% during the 3rd quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 444 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 211 shares in the last quarter. Accredited Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Delta Air Lines by 1,983.3% during the 3rd quarter. Accredited Wealth Management LLC now owns 500 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 476 shares in the last quarter. SWAN Capital LLC boosted its position in shares of Delta Air Lines by 1,016.0% during the 3rd quarter. SWAN Capital LLC now owns 558 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 508 shares in the last quarter. Camelot Portfolios LLC bought a new position in shares of Delta Air Lines during the 4th quarter valued at about $34,000. Finally, Cornerstone Planning Group LLC boosted its position in shares of Delta Air Lines by 451.6% during the 4th quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 524 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 429 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 69.93% of the company’s stock.

Delta Air Lines Stock Performance

Shares of DAL opened at $76.16 on Friday. Delta Air Lines, Inc. has a one year low of $45.28 and a one year high of $77.10. The company has a 50-day moving average of $68.23 and a two-hundred day moving average of $67.20. The stock has a market cap of $50.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.10, a PEG ratio of 1.09 and a beta of 1.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 0.42 and a quick ratio of 0.36.

Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 8th. The transportation company reported $0.64 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 analysts’ expectations of $14.05 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.46 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts expect that Delta Air Lines, Inc. will post 5.26 earnings per share for the current year.

Delta Air Lines Dividend Announcement

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently weighed in on DAL. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Delta Air Lines from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 15th. Argus raised their price objective on shares of Delta Air Lines from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 9th. Susquehanna reduced their price objective on shares of Delta Air Lines from $81.00 to $78.00 and set a “positive” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 9th. TD Cowen raised their price objective on shares of Delta Air Lines from $76.00 to $84.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 9th. Finally, Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of Delta Air Lines from $77.00 to $79.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 9th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-three have issued a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $79.76.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Delta Air Lines news, 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 value of $7,026,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 1,363,448 shares in the company, valued at $95,795,856.48. This trade represents a 6.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Alain Bellemare sold 20,621 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.75, for a total transaction of $1,500,177.75. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 120,025 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,731,818.75. The trade was a 14.66% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 204,925 shares of company stock worth $14,323,395 over the last ninety days. 0.80% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.