Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. Sells 3,434 Shares of Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL)

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. lowered its position in Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL) by 0.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 377,903 shares of the transportation company’s stock after selling 3,434 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. owned 0.06% of Delta Air Lines worth $22,863,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. New Wave Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Delta Air Lines in the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Crews Bank & Trust bought a new position in shares of Delta Air Lines in the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new position in Delta Air Lines during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Modus Advisors LLC bought a new position in Delta Air Lines during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Finally, Harbor Investment Advisory LLC increased its position in Delta Air Lines by 217.1% during the 4th quarter. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC now owns 555 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 380 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 69.93% of the company’s stock.

Delta Air Lines Price Performance

Shares of Delta Air Lines stock opened at $66.35 on Thursday. Delta Air Lines, Inc. has a one year low of $37.29 and a one year high of $69.98. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $64.11 and its 200 day moving average is $55.24. The stock has a market cap of $42.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.45, a P/E/G ratio of 0.80 and a beta of 1.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.32 and a current ratio of 0.37.

Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL) last announced its earnings results on Friday, January 10th. The transportation company reported $1.85 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.76 by $0.09. Delta Air Lines had a return on equity of 30.43% and a net margin of 5.61%. The company had revenue of $15.56 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.20 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.28 EPS. Delta Air Lines’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Delta Air Lines, Inc. will post 7.63 earnings per share for the current year.

Delta Air Lines Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 20th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 27th will be issued a $0.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 27th. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.90%. Delta Air Lines’s dividend payout ratio is currently 11.26%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

DAL has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price objective on Delta Air Lines from $60.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on Delta Air Lines from $58.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, November 11th. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $83.00 price objective on shares of Delta Air Lines in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Citigroup increased their target price on Delta Air Lines from $65.00 to $76.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. Finally, TD Cowen increased their target price on Delta Air Lines from $78.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Fourteen research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $78.22.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Delta Air Lines news, CEO Edward H. Bastian sold 91,710 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.85, for a total transaction of $6,405,943.50. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 439,819 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $30,721,357.15. This trade represents a 17.25 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Rahul D. Samant sold 38,023 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.89, for a total value of $2,467,312.47. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 52,789 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,425,478.21. This represents a 41.87 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 162,886 shares of company stock valued at $11,116,463. 0.96% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.