Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV) Shares Purchased by Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd

Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd grew its position in Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV) by 4.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 33,690 shares of the airline’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,317 shares during the quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd’s holdings in Southwest Airlines were worth $1,133,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Studio Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in Southwest Airlines by 5.2% in the third quarter. Studio Investment Management LLC now owns 6,978 shares of the airline’s stock worth $207,000 after acquiring an additional 343 shares during the last quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Southwest Airlines by 41.1% in the 3rd quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 1,184 shares of the airline’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 345 shares during the last quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in Southwest Airlines by 3.8% during the 4th quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC now owns 10,116 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $340,000 after purchasing an additional 369 shares during the period. Wahed Invest LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Southwest Airlines by 11.5% during the third quarter. Wahed Invest LLC now owns 3,638 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $108,000 after acquiring an additional 375 shares during the period. Finally, Meeder Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Southwest Airlines by 8.4% in the 3rd quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 4,918 shares of the airline’s stock worth $146,000 after acquiring an additional 383 shares during the period. 80.82% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Southwest Airlines

In other Southwest Airlines news, insider Linda B. Rutherford sold 3,849 shares of Southwest Airlines stock in a transaction on Friday, December 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $34.40, for a total transaction of $132,405.60. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 89,376 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,074,534.40. This trade represents a 4.13 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.33% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

LUV has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Southwest Airlines from $20.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $42.00 target price on shares of Southwest Airlines in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. UBS Group boosted their price target on Southwest Airlines from $27.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Southwest Airlines from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, October 28th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “sell” rating and issued a $28.00 target price on shares of Southwest Airlines in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $31.78.

Southwest Airlines Trading Down 1.3 %

Shares of LUV opened at $29.75 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49. Southwest Airlines Co. has a 1-year low of $23.58 and a 1-year high of $36.12. The stock has a market capitalization of $17.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 41.31, a P/E/G ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 1.14. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $32.77 and its 200 day moving average price is $30.59.

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The airline reported $0.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.45 by $0.11. Southwest Airlines had a net margin of 1.69% and a return on equity of 5.77%. Analysts expect that Southwest Airlines Co. will post 1.59 earnings per share for the current year.

Southwest Airlines Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 2nd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 12th will be issued a dividend of $0.18 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 12th. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.42%. Southwest Airlines’s dividend payout ratio is 100.00%.

Southwest Airlines Profile

Southwest Airlines Co operates as a passenger airline company that provides scheduled air transportation services in the United States and near-international markets. As of December 31, 2023, the company operated a total fleet of 817 Boeing 737 aircraft; and served 121 destinations in 42 states, the District of Columbia, and the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, as well as ten near-international countries, including Mexico, Jamaica, the Bahamas, Aruba, the Dominican Republic, Costa Rica, Belize, Cuba, the Cayman Islands, and Turks and Caicos.