Banco Santander S.A. Makes New $295,000 Investment in Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL)

Banco Santander S.A. purchased a new stake in Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund purchased 4,868 shares of the transportation company’s stock, valued at approximately $295,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Sanders Capital LLC raised its holdings in shares of Delta Air Lines by 2.8% during the third quarter. Sanders Capital LLC now owns 27,841,592 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $1,414,074,000 after purchasing an additional 749,099 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Delta Air Lines by 2.8% during 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 buying an additional 416,338 shares during the last quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Delta Air Lines during the third quarter worth about $281,206,000. Castle Hook Partners LP bought a new position in Delta Air Lines in the third quarter worth about $189,296,000. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in Delta Air Lines by 2.9% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,597,589 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $217,654,000 after acquiring an additional 100,102 shares during the period. 69.93% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on DAL shares. TD Cowen increased their price target on Delta Air Lines from $78.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Barclays increased their target price on Delta Air Lines from $60.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. Susquehanna upped their price target 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. StockNews.com raised shares of Delta Air Lines from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “buy” rating and set a $83.00 target price on shares of Delta Air Lines in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Fourteen 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.com, Delta Air Lines has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $78.22.

Insider Transactions at Delta Air Lines

In other news, EVP Rahul D. Samant sold 17,970 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.08, for a total transaction of $1,241,367.60. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 35,889 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,479,212.12. This trade represents a 33.36 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Edward H. Bastian sold 91,710 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 439,819 shares in the company, valued at $30,721,357.15. This trade 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 quarter. Insiders own 0.96% of the company’s stock.

Delta Air Lines Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:DAL opened at $50.28 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $32.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.43, a PEG ratio of 0.75 and a beta of 1.34. 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, Inc. has a 12 month low of $37.29 and a 12 month high of $69.98. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $63.47 and its 200 day moving average price is $57.95.

Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 10th. The transportation company reported $1.85 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 in the previous year, the business earned $1.28 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 9.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Delta Air Lines, Inc. will post 7.63 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Delta Air Lines Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 20th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 27th will be given a dividend of $0.15 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 27th. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.19%. Delta Air Lines’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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.