River Road Asset Management LLC Has $5.13 Million Stock Holdings in Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL)

River Road Asset Management LLC reduced its position in shares of Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL) by 35.1% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 84,738 shares of the transportation company’s stock after selling 45,870 shares during the period. River Road Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Delta Air Lines were worth $5,127,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Van ECK Associates Corp increased its holdings in Delta Air Lines by 6.0% during the 3rd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 4,198 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $229,000 after purchasing an additional 239 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its position in Delta Air Lines by 2.6% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 742,773 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $37,725,000 after buying an additional 19,124 shares during the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. lifted its stake in Delta Air Lines by 68.1% during the 3rd quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 3,006 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $153,000 after acquiring an additional 1,218 shares in the last quarter. Baker Avenue Asset Management LP purchased a new position in Delta Air Lines during the 3rd quarter worth $228,000. Finally, Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new stake in shares of Delta Air Lines in the 3rd quarter worth $31,000. Institutional investors own 69.93% of the company’s stock.

Delta Air Lines Price Performance

DAL opened at $46.65 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $30.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.75, a PEG ratio of 0.75 and a beta of 1.34. The company has a current ratio of 0.37, a quick ratio of 0.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92. Delta Air Lines, Inc. has a 12-month low of $37.29 and a 12-month high of $69.98. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $63.19 and a 200-day moving average price of $57.99.

Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL) last issued 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. The business had revenue of $15.56 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.20 billion. Delta Air Lines had a return on equity of 30.41% and a net margin of 5.61%. Delta Air Lines’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.28 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that Delta Air Lines, Inc. will post 7.63 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Delta Air Lines Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 20th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 27th will be issued a $0.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 27th. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.29%. Delta Air Lines’s dividend payout ratio is currently 11.26%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently weighed in on DAL. UBS Group dropped their price target on shares of Delta Air Lines from $90.00 to $77.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday. Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of Delta Air Lines from $65.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Susquehanna boosted their price objective on Delta Air Lines from $59.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “buy” rating and set a $83.00 target price on shares of Delta Air Lines in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price target on Delta Air Lines from $60.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Fourteen research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Delta Air Lines has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $76.60.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Delta Air Lines news, SVP William C. Carroll sold 8,400 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $66.02, for a total value of $554,568.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 19,756 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,304,291.12. This trade represents a 29.83 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Edward H. Bastian sold 91,710 shares of Delta Air Lines stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.85, for a total value of $6,405,943.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 439,819 shares in the company, valued at approximately $30,721,357.15. This represents a 17.25 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 162,886 shares of company stock valued at $11,116,463 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.96% of the company’s stock.

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.