LPL Financial LLC Buys 86,903 Shares of Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL)

LPL Financial LLC boosted its position in shares of Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL) by 17.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 584,285 shares of the transportation company’s stock after acquiring an additional 86,903 shares during the period. LPL Financial LLC owned approximately 0.09% of Delta Air Lines worth $35,349,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Fox Run Management L.L.C. acquired a new position in shares of Delta Air Lines in the fourth quarter valued at $1,312,000. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS bought a new stake in Delta Air Lines in the 4th quarter valued at $3,975,000. Sei Investments Co. raised its stake in shares of Delta Air Lines by 14.5% in the 4th quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 903,496 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $54,663,000 after buying an additional 114,653 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Delta Air Lines by 15.3% during the 4th quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 928,215 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $56,157,000 after acquiring an additional 122,824 shares during the period. Finally, Truffle Hound Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Delta Air Lines during the 4th quarter valued at about $4,538,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 69.93% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have commented on DAL. UBS Group cut their price target on shares of Delta Air Lines from $90.00 to $77.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Barclays decreased their price target on Delta Air Lines from $90.00 to $80.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Susquehanna increased their price objective on Delta Air Lines from $59.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Citigroup reduced their target price on shares of Delta Air Lines from $80.00 to $72.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 18th. Finally, TD Cowen increased their target price on shares of Delta Air Lines from $78.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 13th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Delta Air Lines currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $76.29.

Insider Activity at Delta Air Lines

In related news, CEO Edward H. Bastian sold 91,710 shares of the company’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 transaction of $6,405,943.50. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 439,819 shares in the company, valued at approximately $30,721,357.15. This represents a 17.25 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Rahul D. Samant sold 38,023 shares of Delta Air Lines stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.89, for a total transaction of $2,467,312.47. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 52,789 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $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 90 days, insiders sold 162,886 shares of company stock worth $11,116,463. 0.96% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Delta Air Lines Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:DAL opened at $43.80 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $58.94 and a 200-day moving average of $58.18. Delta Air Lines, Inc. has a 12 month low of $37.29 and a 12 month high of $69.98. 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 market capitalization of $28.31 billion, a PE ratio of 8.22, a PEG ratio of 0.75 and a beta of 1.34.

Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL) last announced its quarterly 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 net margin of 5.61% and a return on equity of 30.41%. The firm had revenue of $15.56 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.20 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.28 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 9.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts predict that Delta Air Lines, Inc. will post 7.63 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Delta Air Lines Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 20th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 27th were issued a dividend of $0.15 per share. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.37%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 27th. Delta Air Lines’s dividend payout ratio is currently 11.26%.

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.