Commonwealth Equity Services LLC Sells 1,417 Shares of Alaska Air Group, Inc. (NYSE:ALK)

Commonwealth Equity Services LLC trimmed its position in shares of Alaska Air Group, Inc. (NYSE:ALK) by 3.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 35,422 shares of the transportation company’s stock after selling 1,417 shares during the quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC’s holdings in Alaska Air Group were worth $2,294,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Alaska Air Group by 3.9% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,061,596 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $93,229,000 after buying an additional 78,186 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Alaska Air Group by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,432,052 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $92,725,000 after acquiring an additional 9,805 shares during the last quarter. Hennessy Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Alaska Air Group in the fourth quarter worth approximately $82,459,000. FMR LLC raised its holdings in shares of Alaska Air Group by 32.4% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,084,639 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $49,037,000 after purchasing an additional 265,343 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Barclays PLC lifted its position in Alaska Air Group by 1.8% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 1,058,564 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $47,857,000 after purchasing an additional 18,233 shares during the period. 81.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Susquehanna raised Alaska Air Group from a “neutral” rating to a “positive” rating and set a $95.00 price target on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Bank of America increased their target price on Alaska Air Group from $70.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. UBS Group cut their price target on Alaska Air Group from $87.00 to $75.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Citigroup lowered their price objective on shares of Alaska Air Group from $83.00 to $81.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 18th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Alaska Air Group from $70.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $77.00.

Alaska Air Group Trading Down 2.3 %

Shares of ALK stock opened at $52.58 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 0.58 and a current ratio of 0.61. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $66.39 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $57.35. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.45 billion, a PE ratio of 17.24, a PEG ratio of 0.43 and a beta of 1.50. Alaska Air Group, Inc. has a 52-week low of $32.62 and a 52-week high of $78.08.

Alaska Air Group (NYSE:ALK) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The transportation company reported $0.97 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.45 by $0.52. Alaska Air Group had a return on equity of 14.66% and a net margin of 3.37%. On average, analysts predict that Alaska Air Group, Inc. will post 6.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Andrew R. Harrison sold 91,745 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.14, for a total transaction of $6,526,739.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 20,638 shares in the company, valued at $1,468,187.32. This trade represents a 81.64 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Andrea L. Schneider sold 1,830 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $73.32, for a total value of $134,175.60. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 20,286 shares in the company, valued at $1,487,369.52. This represents a 8.27 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 154,725 shares of company stock worth $11,217,263 over the last quarter. Insiders own 0.68% of the company’s stock.

Alaska Air Group Profile

Alaska Air Group, Inc, through its subsidiaries, operates airlines. It operates through three segments: Mainline, Regional, and Horizon. The company offers scheduled air transportation services on Boeing jet aircraft for passengers and cargo in the United States, and in parts of Canada, Mexico, Costa Rica, Belize, Guatemala, and the Bahamas; and for passengers across a shorter distance network within the United States, Canada, and Mexico.