Geode Capital Management LLC Acquires 410,648 Shares of Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL)

Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL) by 2.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 15,912,584 shares of the transportation company’s stock after buying an additional 410,648 shares during the quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Delta Air Lines were worth $968,234,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in DAL. New Wave Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Delta Air Lines in the fourth quarter valued at $27,000. Hemington Wealth Management boosted its stake in shares of Delta Air Lines by 48.1% during the 4th quarter. Hemington Wealth Management now owns 474 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 154 shares in the last quarter. Roxbury Financial LLC purchased a new position in shares of Delta Air Lines during the fourth quarter valued at about $29,000. Crews Bank & Trust bought a new position in Delta Air Lines in the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. Finally, Modus Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Delta Air Lines in the fourth quarter worth about $33,000. 69.93% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Delta Air Lines Stock Performance

Shares of DAL opened at $43.38 on Thursday. Delta Air Lines, Inc. has a 12 month low of $37.29 and a 12 month high of $69.98. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $57.49 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $58.26. The company has a current ratio of 0.37, a quick ratio of 0.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92. The company has a market cap of $28.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.14, a P/E/G ratio of 0.75 and a beta of 1.34.

Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 10th. The transportation company reported $1.85 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.76 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $15.56 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.20 billion. Delta Air Lines had a return on equity of 30.41% and a net margin of 5.61%. Delta Air Lines’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.28 EPS. Research 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 business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 20th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 27th were given a dividend of $0.15 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 27th. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.38%. Delta Air Lines’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 11.26%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on DAL shares. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “hold” rating and issued a $46.00 target price (down previously from $85.00) on shares of Delta Air Lines in a research report on Tuesday. Citigroup lowered their price objective on Delta Air Lines from $80.00 to $72.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, March 18th. Susquehanna upped their target price on shares of Delta Air Lines from $59.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. StockNews.com cut shares of Delta Air Lines from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 25th. Finally, TD Cowen boosted their price objective on shares of Delta Air Lines from $78.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $71.77.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Delta Air Lines news, CEO Edward H. Bastian sold 91,710 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.85, for a total value of $6,405,943.50. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 439,819 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $30,721,357.15. This trade represents a 17.25 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP William C. Carroll sold 8,400 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.02, for a total transaction of $554,568.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 19,756 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,304,291.12. The trade was a 29.83 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 162,886 shares of company stock worth $11,116,463. 0.96% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.