Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL) Shares Sold by Great Valley Advisor Group Inc.

Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. decreased its stake in shares of Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL) by 4.0% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 52,128 shares of the transportation company’s stock after selling 2,180 shares during the period. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc.’s holdings in Delta Air Lines were worth $2,648,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Senator Investment Group LP increased its holdings in shares of Delta Air Lines by 90.0% during the 2nd quarter. Senator Investment Group LP now owns 475,000 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $22,534,000 after buying an additional 225,000 shares during the last quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. increased its stake in Delta Air Lines by 5.4% during the third quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. now owns 268,636 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $13,644,000 after acquiring an additional 13,802 shares during the last quarter. KBC Group NV increased its stake in Delta Air Lines by 143.7% during the third quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 56,611 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $2,876,000 after acquiring an additional 33,378 shares during the last quarter. Olstein Capital Management L.P. raised its holdings in shares of Delta Air Lines by 32.6% in the 3rd quarter. Olstein Capital Management L.P. now owns 175,000 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $8,888,000 after purchasing an additional 43,000 shares during the period. Finally, River Road Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Delta Air Lines by 22.8% in the 3rd quarter. River Road Asset Management LLC now owns 130,608 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $6,634,000 after purchasing an additional 24,249 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 69.93% of the company’s stock.

Delta Air Lines Price Performance

DAL stock opened at $63.34 on Monday. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $55.01 and its two-hundred day moving average is $49.11. Delta Air Lines, Inc. has a 52-week low of $35.46 and a 52-week high of $66.25. The company has a market capitalization of $40.87 billion, a PE ratio of 8.80, a P/E/G ratio of 1.20 and a beta of 1.33. The company has a quick ratio of 0.34, a current ratio of 0.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.05.

Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 10th. The transportation company reported $1.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.52 by ($0.02). The company had revenue of $15.68 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.65 billion. Delta Air Lines had a net margin of 7.71% and a return on equity of 29.93%. The company’s revenue was up 1.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.03 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Delta Air Lines, Inc. will post 6.07 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Delta Air Lines Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 31st. Investors of record on Thursday, October 10th were paid a $0.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, October 10th. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.95%. Delta Air Lines’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 8.33%.

Insider Activity at Delta Air Lines

In other news, EVP Joanne D. Smith sold 3,431 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.46, for a total value of $173,128.26. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 108,990 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,499,635.40. The trade was a 3.05 % 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 68,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $56.33, for a total value of $3,830,440.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 439,819 shares in the company, valued at approximately $24,775,004.27. This represents a 13.39 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 140,240 shares of company stock valued at $8,044,893 over the last three months. 0.96% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently commented on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “buy” rating and issued a $83.00 price target on shares of Delta Air Lines in a report on Friday, November 15th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on shares of Delta Air Lines from $58.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 11th. BNP Paribas upgraded Delta Air Lines to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, September 19th. Susquehanna boosted their price objective on Delta Air Lines from $50.00 to $59.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their target price on Delta Air Lines from $60.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $72.75.

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.