Alaska Air Group, Inc. (NYSE:ALK) Holdings Trimmed by William Blair Investment Management LLC

William Blair Investment Management LLC lowered its holdings in Alaska Air Group, Inc. (NYSE:ALK) by 44.3% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 6,308 shares of the transportation company’s stock after selling 5,013 shares during the period. William Blair Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Alaska Air Group were worth $408,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of ALK. Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in Alaska Air Group by 11.2% in the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 28,316 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $1,280,000 after acquiring an additional 2,858 shares in the last quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Alaska Air Group by 54.2% in the 3rd quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 19,147 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $866,000 after purchasing an additional 6,734 shares during the period. Quest Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Alaska Air Group by 1,531,200.0% in the third quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 15,313 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $692,000 after purchasing an additional 15,312 shares in the last quarter. Prospera Financial Services Inc boosted its holdings in shares of Alaska Air Group by 9.8% during the third quarter. Prospera Financial Services Inc now owns 7,763 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $351,000 after purchasing an additional 695 shares during the period. Finally, Landscape Capital Management L.L.C. purchased a new position in Alaska Air Group during the third quarter valued at approximately $4,673,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.90% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Alaska Air Group

In other Alaska Air Group news, EVP Andrew R. Harrison sold 6,600 shares of Alaska Air Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $76.28, for a total value of $503,448.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 34,030 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,595,808.40. The trade was a 16.24 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Shane R. Tackett sold 22,893 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.74, for a total value of $1,733,915.82. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 31,873 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,414,061.02. This trade represents a 41.80 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 154,725 shares of company stock worth $11,217,263 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.68% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on ALK shares. Susquehanna upgraded shares of Alaska Air Group from a “neutral” rating to a “positive” rating and set a $95.00 target price for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. UBS Group increased their price objective on Alaska Air Group from $81.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. TD Cowen lifted their price objective on Alaska Air Group from $85.00 to $110.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on Alaska Air Group from $70.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, Citigroup cut their price target on Alaska Air Group from $83.00 to $81.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $77.54.

Alaska Air Group Stock Up 3.1 %

Shares of Alaska Air Group stock opened at $53.96 on Thursday. Alaska Air Group, Inc. has a 12-month low of $32.62 and a 12-month high of $78.08. The company has a quick ratio of 0.58, a current ratio of 0.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $68.04 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $56.80. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.69, a PEG ratio of 0.43 and a beta of 1.50.

Alaska Air Group (NYSE:ALK) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 22nd. The transportation company reported $0.97 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.45 by $0.52. Alaska Air Group had a net margin of 3.37% and a return on equity of 14.66%. Equities analysts expect that Alaska Air Group, Inc. will post 6.03 earnings per share for the current year.

Alaska Air Group Company Profile

Alaska Air Group, Inc, through its subsidiaries, operates airlines. It operates through three segments: Mainline, Regional, and Horizon. The company offers scheduled air transportation services on Boeing jet aircraft for passengers and cargo in the United States, and in parts of Canada, Mexico, Costa Rica, Belize, Guatemala, and the Bahamas; and for passengers across a shorter distance network within the United States, Canada, and Mexico.