Swiss National Bank Cuts Stock Holdings in Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL)

Swiss National Bank decreased its holdings in shares of Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL) by 4.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 455,700 shares of the transportation company’s stock after selling 23,200 shares during the period. Swiss National Bank owned 0.07% of Delta Air Lines worth $27,570,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. KBC Group NV increased its position in Delta Air Lines by 143.7% during the 3rd quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 56,611 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $2,876,000 after purchasing an additional 33,378 shares during the period. Donoghue Forlines LLC purchased a new position in Delta Air Lines during the 4th quarter valued at about $2,036,000. New Millennium Group LLC increased its position in Delta Air Lines by 314.0% during the 3rd quarter. New Millennium Group LLC now owns 36,460 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $1,852,000 after purchasing an additional 27,654 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in 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 purchasing an additional 416,338 shares during the period. Finally, Castle Hook Partners LP bought a new stake in shares of Delta Air Lines in the 3rd quarter valued at about $189,296,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 69.93% of the company’s stock.

Delta Air Lines Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE DAL opened at $46.88 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.37, a quick ratio of 0.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92. Delta Air Lines, Inc. has a 12 month low of $37.29 and a 12 month high of $69.98. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $62.08 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $58.12. The stock has a market cap of $30.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.79, a PEG ratio of 0.75 and a beta of 1.34.

Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 10th. The transportation company reported $1.85 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 business had revenue of $15.56 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.20 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.28 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 9.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts predict that Delta Air Lines, Inc. will post 7.63 earnings per share for the current year.

Delta Air Lines Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 20th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 27th will be paid a dividend of $0.15 per share. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.28%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 27th. Delta Air Lines’s payout ratio is 11.26%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on DAL. UBS Group lowered 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 report on Tuesday, March 11th. TD Cowen raised their price target on shares of Delta Air Lines from $78.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 13th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price target on shares of Delta Air Lines from $60.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Susquehanna raised their price target on shares of Delta Air Lines from $59.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Delta Air Lines from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Fourteen research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Delta Air Lines presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $76.60.

Insider Buying and Selling at Delta Air Lines

In other news, 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 directly owns 52,789 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,425,478.21. The trade was a 41.87 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP William C. Carroll sold 6,783 shares of Delta Air Lines stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.94, for a total transaction of $447,271.02. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 10,016 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $660,455.04. This trade represents a 40.38 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 162,886 shares of company stock worth $11,116,463. Company insiders own 0.96% of the company’s stock.

About Delta Air Lines

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.