Prudential Financial Inc. Sells 92,744 Shares of Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL)

Prudential Financial Inc. reduced its holdings in shares of Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL) by 17.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 438,674 shares of the transportation company’s stock after selling 92,744 shares during the quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. owned 0.07% of Delta Air Lines worth $26,540,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of DAL. Woodmont Investment Counsel LLC lifted its stake in Delta Air Lines by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Woodmont Investment Counsel LLC now owns 41,790 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $2,528,000 after acquiring an additional 192 shares during the period. Corebridge Financial Inc. lifted its position in Delta Air Lines by 4.5% during the fourth quarter. Corebridge Financial Inc. now owns 221,115 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $13,377,000 after purchasing an additional 9,577 shares during the period. Crowley Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Delta Air Lines in the fourth quarter worth approximately $45,000. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Delta Air Lines by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 72,410,242 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $4,380,820,000 after purchasing an additional 456,465 shares during the period. Finally, LPL Financial LLC raised its stake in Delta Air Lines by 17.5% during the 4th quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 584,285 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $35,349,000 after buying an additional 86,903 shares during the last quarter. 69.93% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Delta Air Lines Price Performance

NYSE:DAL opened at $48.06 on Thursday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $59.78 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $58.27. Delta Air Lines, Inc. has a 52 week low of $37.29 and a 52 week high of $69.98. The stock has a market cap of $31.07 billion, a PE ratio of 9.02, a P/E/G ratio of 0.75 and a beta of 1.34. The company has a quick ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 0.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92.

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, beating the consensus estimate of $1.76 by $0.09. Delta Air Lines had a return on equity of 30.41% and a net margin of 5.61%. The company had revenue of $15.56 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.20 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.28 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 9.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts forecast that Delta Air Lines, Inc. will post 7.63 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Delta Air Lines Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 20th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 27th were given a dividend of $0.15 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 27th. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.25%. Delta Air Lines’s dividend payout ratio is 11.26%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

DAL has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Citigroup cut their price objective on Delta Air Lines from $80.00 to $72.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. Barclays reduced their price target on shares of Delta Air Lines from $90.00 to $80.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. TD Cowen increased their price objective on shares of Delta Air Lines from $78.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 13th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Delta Air Lines from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, UBS Group decreased 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, March 11th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Delta Air Lines presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $76.29.

Insider Activity at Delta Air Lines

In other news, CEO Edward H. Bastian sold 91,710 shares of Delta Air Lines stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 439,819 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $30,721,357.15. The trade was a 17.25 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Rahul D. Samant sold 17,970 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.08, for a total value of $1,241,367.60. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 35,889 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,479,212.12. The trade was a 33.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 162,886 shares of company stock valued at $11,116,463. Corporate insiders own 0.96% of the company’s stock.

Delta Air Lines 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.