IFP Advisors Inc Sells 14,838 Shares of Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL)

IFP Advisors Inc lessened its holdings in Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL) by 63.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 8,645 shares of the transportation company’s stock after selling 14,838 shares during the period. IFP Advisors Inc’s holdings in Delta Air Lines were worth $523,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. RWC Asset Management LLP lifted its stake in shares of Delta Air Lines by 38.3% in the 4th quarter. RWC Asset Management LLP now owns 8,012 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $485,000 after purchasing an additional 2,219 shares during the period. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd bought a new position in shares of Delta Air Lines in the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,702,000. Partners Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Delta Air Lines in the 4th quarter worth approximately $298,000. First Horizon Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Delta Air Lines by 249.5% in the 4th quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 2,709 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $164,000 after purchasing an additional 1,934 shares during the period. Finally, Navellier & Associates Inc. bought a new position in shares of Delta Air Lines in the 4th quarter worth approximately $233,000. Institutional investors own 69.93% of the company’s stock.

Delta Air Lines Trading Up 0.6 %

Shares of DAL opened at $60.09 on Friday. 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 1 year low of $37.29 and a 1 year high of $69.98. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $64.33 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $57.09. The firm has a market cap of $38.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.75 and a beta of 1.36.

Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL) last posted its earnings results on Friday, January 10th. The transportation company reported $1.85 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 analyst estimates of $14.20 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.28 earnings per share. Delta Air Lines’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts expect that Delta Air Lines, Inc. will post 7.63 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Delta Air Lines Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 20th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 27th will be issued a $0.15 dividend. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.00%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 27th. Delta Air Lines’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 11.26%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on DAL. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $83.00 price objective on shares of Delta Air Lines in a research note on Friday, November 15th. UBS Group restated a “buy” rating and set a $88.00 target price on shares of Delta Air Lines in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on shares of Delta Air Lines from $58.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their target price on shares of Delta Air Lines from $60.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Finally, Citigroup raised 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 note on Tuesday, November 26th. Fourteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $78.22.

Insider Activity at Delta Air Lines

In related news, CEO Edward H. Bastian sold 91,710 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, 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 document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Rahul D. Samant sold 38,023 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 directly owns 52,789 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,425,478.21. This trade represents a 41.87 % 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. 0.96% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.