J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. Sells 743 Shares of Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL)

J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. cut its holdings in Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL) by 4.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 17,095 shares of the transportation company’s stock after selling 743 shares during the quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Delta Air Lines were worth $1,034,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of DAL. Sanders Capital LLC increased its position in Delta Air Lines by 2.8% in the 3rd quarter. Sanders Capital LLC now owns 27,841,592 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $1,414,074,000 after buying an additional 749,099 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Delta Air Lines by 2.8% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 15,501,936 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $789,452,000 after acquiring an additional 416,338 shares during the period. Pzena Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Delta Air Lines during the third quarter valued at approximately $281,206,000. Castle Hook Partners LP bought a new stake in shares of Delta Air Lines during the third quarter valued at approximately $189,296,000. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Delta Air Lines by 0.3% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,497,487 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $177,637,000 after purchasing an additional 10,332 shares in the last quarter. 69.93% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Delta Air Lines Price Performance

Shares of NYSE DAL opened at $64.36 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.37, a quick ratio of 0.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $64.20 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $55.87. Delta Air Lines, Inc. has a 1-year low of $37.29 and a 1-year high of $69.98. The firm has a market cap of $41.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.80 and a beta of 1.36.

Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 10th. The transportation company reported $1.85 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.20 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.28 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 9.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that Delta Air Lines, Inc. will post 7.63 earnings per share for the current year.

Delta Air Lines Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 20th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 27th will be paid a dividend of $0.15 per share. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.93%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 27th. Delta Air Lines’s payout ratio is currently 11.26%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Rahul D. Samant sold 38,023 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.89, for a total transaction of $2,467,312.47. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 52,789 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,425,478.21. This represents a 41.87 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP William C. Carroll sold 8,400 shares of Delta Air Lines stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.02, for a total value 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. The trade was a 29.83 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 162,886 shares of company stock valued at $11,116,463. Company insiders own 0.96% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

DAL has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of Delta Air Lines from $65.00 to $76.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. Susquehanna boosted their target price on shares of Delta Air Lines from $59.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Delta Air Lines from $60.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, November 14th. UBS Group reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $88.00 price target on shares of Delta Air Lines in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. Finally, TD Cowen increased their price objective on Delta Air Lines from $78.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 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, Delta Air Lines has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $78.22.

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.