Howard Capital Management Inc. Increases Stake in Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL)

Howard Capital Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL) by 0.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 88,869 shares of the transportation company’s stock after buying an additional 193 shares during the quarter. Howard Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Delta Air Lines were worth $5,377,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of DAL. Sanders Capital LLC increased its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 749,099 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Delta Air Lines by 2.8% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 15,501,936 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $789,452,000 after purchasing an additional 416,338 shares in the last quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Delta Air Lines in the 3rd quarter valued at about $281,206,000. Castle Hook Partners LP purchased a new position in shares of Delta Air Lines in the 3rd quarter valued at about $189,296,000. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased 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 valued at $177,637,000 after purchasing an additional 10,332 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 69.93% of the company’s stock.

Delta Air Lines Price Performance

Delta Air Lines stock opened at $59.88 on Friday. Delta Air Lines, Inc. has a 12-month low of $37.29 and a 12-month high of $69.98. The stock has a market capitalization of $38.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.23, a P/E/G ratio of 0.75 and a beta of 1.36. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $64.27 and its two-hundred day moving average is $56.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 0.37 and a quick ratio of 0.32.

Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL) last released its earnings results on Friday, January 10th. The transportation company reported $1.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.76 by $0.09. Delta Air Lines had a net margin of 5.61% and a return on equity of 30.41%. The business had revenue of $15.56 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.20 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.28 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 9.4% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts predict that Delta Air Lines, Inc. will post 7.63 earnings per share for the current year.

Delta Air Lines Dividend Announcement

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 given a $0.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 27th. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.00%. Delta Air Lines’s dividend payout ratio is presently 11.26%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Edward H. Bastian sold 91,710 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 439,819 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $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 at the SEC website. Also, EVP Rahul D. Samant sold 38,023 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 162,886 shares of company stock valued at $11,116,463. Insiders own 0.96% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

DAL has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. UBS Group reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $88.00 price target on shares of Delta Air Lines in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. Susquehanna raised their target price on shares of Delta Air Lines from $59.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. TD Cowen raised their target price on shares of Delta Air Lines from $78.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 13th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their target price on shares of Delta Air Lines from $60.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “buy” rating and set a $83.00 target price on shares of Delta Air Lines in a report on Friday, November 15th. Fourteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $78.22.

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.