Legal & General Group Plc Decreases Stock Holdings in Alaska Air Group, Inc. (NYSE:ALK)

Legal & General Group Plc lowered its position in Alaska Air Group, Inc. (NYSE:ALK) by 2.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 258,458 shares of the transportation company’s stock after selling 5,561 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc owned approximately 0.20% of Alaska Air Group worth $16,735,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of ALK. FMR LLC lifted its position in Alaska Air Group by 328.7% during the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 4,649,388 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $301,048,000 after acquiring an additional 3,564,749 shares during the period. Hennessy Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Alaska Air Group during the fourth quarter worth about $82,459,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Alaska Air Group during the fourth quarter worth about $24,241,000. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Alaska Air Group in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $19,847,000. Finally, Boston Partners increased its holdings in Alaska Air Group by 6.9% in the 4th quarter. Boston Partners now owns 3,460,959 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $224,121,000 after buying an additional 222,780 shares during the period. 81.90% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Alaska Air Group

In other Alaska Air Group news, SVP Andrea L. Schneider sold 1,830 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $73.32, for a total value of $134,175.60. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 20,286 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,487,369.52. This trade represents a 8.27 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Joseph A. Sprague sold 9,500 shares of Alaska Air Group stock in a transaction on Friday, January 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $68.90, for a total value of $654,550.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 9,840 shares in the company, valued at approximately $677,976. This represents a 49.12 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 154,725 shares of company stock worth $11,217,263 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.68% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ALK has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Citigroup lowered their target price on Alaska Air Group from $83.00 to $81.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 18th. TD Cowen lifted their price objective on shares of Alaska Air Group from $85.00 to $110.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Susquehanna decreased their price objective on shares of Alaska Air Group from $95.00 to $55.00 and set a “positive” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Alaska Air Group from $85.00 to $89.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target 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. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $70.15.

Alaska Air Group Trading Down 1.6 %

Shares of ALK stock opened at $45.01 on Tuesday. Alaska Air Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $32.62 and a fifty-two week high of $78.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 0.58 and a current ratio of 0.61. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $59.56 and its two-hundred day moving average is $57.99. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.76, a PEG ratio of 0.43 and a beta of 1.37.

Alaska Air Group (NYSE:ALK) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The transportation company reported $0.97 earnings per share 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%. Research analysts expect that Alaska Air Group, Inc. will post 6.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Alaska Air Group 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.