Gateway Investment Advisers LLC Decreases Stake in Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL)

Gateway Investment Advisers LLC cut its holdings in shares of Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL) by 20.7% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 25,398 shares of the transportation company’s stock after selling 6,640 shares during the period. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC’s holdings in Delta Air Lines were worth $1,216,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of DAL. LPL Financial LLC raised its holdings in shares of Delta Air Lines by 1.7% during the third quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 443,435 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $16,407,000 after purchasing an additional 7,537 shares during the last quarter. Mariner LLC boosted its stake in shares of Delta Air Lines by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter. Mariner LLC now owns 103,669 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $3,836,000 after buying an additional 742 shares during the last quarter. Eagle Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Delta Air Lines by 2.8% in the third quarter. Eagle Asset Management Inc. now owns 51,727 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $1,914,000 after acquiring an additional 1,425 shares during the period. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC increased its position in Delta Air Lines by 9.8% during the third quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 25,684 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $950,000 after acquiring an additional 2,285 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vinva Investment Management Ltd lifted its holdings in Delta Air Lines by 197.1% in the third quarter. Vinva Investment Management Ltd now owns 14,693 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $543,000 after acquiring an additional 9,748 shares during the period. 69.93% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Delta Air Lines news, President Glen W. Hauenstein sold 100,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $49.05, for a total transaction of $4,905,000.00. Following the transaction, the president now owns 217,584 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,672,495.20. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other Delta Air Lines news, EVP Peter W. Carter sold 50,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.00, for a total transaction of $2,500,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 143,328 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,166,400. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, President Glen W. Hauenstein sold 100,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $49.05, for a total transaction of $4,905,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the president now owns 217,584 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,672,495.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 178,919 shares of company stock valued at $8,834,653 over the last three months. 0.96% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $85.00 price target on shares of Delta Air Lines in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Bank of America raised their target price on shares of Delta Air Lines from $53.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Citigroup upped their price objective on Delta Air Lines from $55.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 29th. UBS Group initiated coverage on shares of Delta Air Lines in a research note on Wednesday, March 20th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $59.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price objective on Delta Air Lines from $50.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $59.85.

Delta Air Lines Price Performance

Shares of Delta Air Lines stock opened at $48.80 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $31.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.73 and a beta of 1.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.48, a quick ratio of 0.36 and a current ratio of 0.41. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $50.61 and a 200-day moving average price of $45.05. Delta Air Lines, Inc. has a one year low of $30.60 and a one year high of $53.86.

Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 11th. The transportation company reported $0.45 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.36 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $13.75 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $12.51 billion. Delta Air Lines had a return on equity of 41.89% and a net margin of 8.48%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 7.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.25 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that Delta Air Lines, Inc. will post 6.61 EPS for the current year.

Delta Air Lines Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, August 20th. Investors of record on Tuesday, July 30th will be issued a $0.15 dividend. This is an increase from Delta Air Lines’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.10. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.23%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, July 30th. Delta Air Lines’s payout ratio is presently 5.14%.

Delta Air Lines 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.