Asset Management One Co. Ltd. Acquires 3,070 Shares of Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL)

Asset Management One Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL) by 2.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 119,834 shares of the transportation company’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,070 shares during the period. Asset Management One Co. Ltd.’s holdings in Delta Air Lines were worth $7,341,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of DAL. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd raised its position in Delta Air Lines by 3.1% during the 3rd quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd now owns 25,645 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $1,303,000 after purchasing an additional 778 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. raised its position in Delta Air Lines by 23.0% during the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 23,976 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $1,137,000 after purchasing an additional 4,481 shares during the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its position in Delta Air Lines by 1.9% during the 3rd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 36,948 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $1,877,000 after purchasing an additional 699 shares during the last quarter. Gilliland Jeter Wealth Management LLC raised its position in Delta Air Lines by 1,251.7% during the 3rd quarter. Gilliland Jeter Wealth Management LLC now owns 7,759 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $394,000 after purchasing an additional 7,185 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wealth Effects LLC raised its position in Delta Air Lines by 3.9% during the 3rd quarter. Wealth Effects LLC now owns 13,245 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $673,000 after purchasing an additional 500 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 69.93% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

DAL has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Barclays upped their target price on Delta Air Lines from $60.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, November 14th. Susquehanna upped their target price on Delta Air Lines from $59.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $83.00 target price on shares of Delta Air Lines in a report on Friday, November 15th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on Delta Air Lines from $58.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 11th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Delta Air Lines from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Fourteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $78.22.

Delta Air Lines Stock Performance

Delta Air Lines stock opened at $65.41 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $42.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.27, a PEG ratio of 0.80 and a beta of 1.36. Delta Air Lines, Inc. has a twelve month low of $37.29 and a twelve month high of $69.98. The company has a quick ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 0.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $64.14 and its 200 day moving average is $55.70.

Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 10th. The transportation company reported $1.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.76 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $15.56 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.20 billion. Delta Air Lines had a return on equity of 30.43% and a net margin of 5.61%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 9.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.28 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Delta Air Lines, Inc. will post 7.63 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Delta Air Lines Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 20th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 27th will be given a $0.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 27th. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.92%. Delta Air Lines’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 11.26%.

Insider Activity at Delta Air Lines

In other news, SVP William C. Carroll sold 8,400 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, January 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $66.02, for a total transaction of $554,568.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 19,756 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,304,291.12. This represents a 29.83 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Edward H. Bastian sold 91,710 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.85, for a total value of $6,405,943.50. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 439,819 shares in the company, valued at $30,721,357.15. The trade was a 17.25 % 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 corporate insiders.

About Delta Air Lines

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.