Smartleaf Asset Management LLC Reduces Stock Position in Delta Air Lines, Inc. $DAL

Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lessened its holdings in Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL) by 7.7% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 14,640 shares of the transportation company’s stock after selling 1,213 shares during the quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Delta Air Lines were worth $642,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of DAL. Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in Delta Air Lines by 5,224.6% in the first quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 4,336,709 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $189,081,000 after buying an additional 4,255,262 shares during the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its holdings in Delta Air Lines by 347.4% in the first quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 4,232,974 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $184,909,000 after buying an additional 3,286,741 shares during the last quarter. Ninety One UK Ltd grew its holdings in shares of Delta Air Lines by 1,469.9% during the first quarter. Ninety One UK Ltd now owns 3,309,020 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $144,273,000 after purchasing an additional 3,098,237 shares during the last quarter. Nuveen LLC purchased a new position in shares of Delta Air Lines during the first quarter worth about $122,849,000. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its holdings in shares of Delta Air Lines by 66.9% during the first quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 5,915,545 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $257,918,000 after purchasing an additional 2,370,795 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 69.93% of the company’s stock.

Delta Air Lines Price Performance

Shares of DAL opened at $61.6320 on Monday. Delta Air Lines, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $34.74 and a fifty-two week high of $69.98. The company has a market capitalization of $40.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 1.56. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $53.69 and a 200-day simple moving average of $50.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 0.33 and a current ratio of 0.38.

Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 10th. The transportation company reported $2.10 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.01 by $0.09. Delta Air Lines had a net margin of 7.24% and a return on equity of 24.86%. The business had revenue of $15,507,000 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.16 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.36 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was down .1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Delta Air Lines, Inc. will post 7.63 earnings per share for the current year.

Delta Air Lines Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 21st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 31st were paid a dividend of $0.1875 per share. This represents a $0.75 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.2%. This is a positive change from Delta Air Lines’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.15. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, July 31st. Delta Air Lines’s payout ratio is currently 10.87%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have issued reports on DAL shares. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on Delta Air Lines from $56.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, July 14th. Citigroup raised their price objective on Delta Air Lines from $62.00 to $65.50 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, July 11th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Delta Air Lines from $88.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, July 11th. Susquehanna set a $65.00 price objective on Delta Air Lines and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a report on Friday, July 11th. Finally, BNP Paribas Exane raised their price objective on Delta Air Lines from $58.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, July 11th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $66.21.

Insider Transactions at Delta Air Lines

In related news, EVP Alain Bellemare sold 45,423 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.56, for a total value of $2,523,701.88. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 131,731 shares in the company, valued at $7,318,974.36. This trade represents a 25.64% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Edward H. Bastian sold 35,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $56.28, for a total transaction of $1,969,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 632,823 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $35,615,278.44. The trade was a 5.24% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 136,473 shares of company stock valued at $7,663,496 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.96% of the company’s stock.

Delta Air Lines Company 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.