Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL) Shares Sold by Whittier Trust Co.

Whittier Trust Co. cut its stake in Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL) by 11.2% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 4,688 shares of the transportation company’s stock after selling 590 shares during the period. Whittier Trust Co.’s holdings in Delta Air Lines were worth $284,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Sanders Capital LLC raised its holdings in Delta Air Lines by 2.8% in the third quarter. Sanders Capital LLC now owns 27,841,592 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $1,414,074,000 after acquiring an additional 749,099 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Delta Air Lines by 2.8% during the third 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 last quarter. Boston Partners bought a new stake in Delta Air Lines during the fourth quarter valued at $328,398,000. Castle Hook Partners LP bought a new stake in Delta Air Lines during the third quarter valued at $189,296,000. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in Delta Air Lines by 2.9% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,597,589 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $217,654,000 after purchasing an additional 100,102 shares during the last quarter. 69.93% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Delta Air Lines Stock Performance

Shares of DAL opened at $46.89 on Monday. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $60.80 and a 200 day moving average price of $58.25. The firm has a market capitalization of $30.31 billion, a PE ratio of 8.80, a P/E/G ratio of 0.75 and a beta of 1.34. The company has a quick ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 0.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92. Delta Air Lines, Inc. has a 52-week low of $37.29 and a 52-week high of $69.98.

Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL) last announced its earnings results on Friday, January 10th. The transportation company reported $1.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 firm had revenue of $15.56 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.20 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.28 EPS. Delta Air Lines’s revenue was up 9.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Delta Air Lines, Inc. will post 7.63 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Delta Air Lines Announces Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Delta Air Lines

In other Delta Air Lines news, SVP William C. Carroll sold 6,783 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.94, for a total value of $447,271.02. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 10,016 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $660,455.04. This represents a 40.38 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Edward H. Bastian sold 91,710 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.85, for a total transaction of $6,405,943.50. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 439,819 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $30,721,357.15. This represents a 17.25 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 162,886 shares of company stock valued at $11,116,463. 0.96% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have weighed in on the stock. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Delta Air Lines from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. TD Cowen boosted their target price on shares of Delta Air Lines from $78.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Barclays lowered their target price on shares of Delta Air Lines from $90.00 to $80.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Citigroup lowered their target price on shares of Delta Air Lines from $80.00 to $72.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, March 18th. Finally, UBS Group lowered their price target on shares of Delta Air Lines from $90.00 to $77.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Fourteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $76.29.

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.