Boston Partners Acquires New Holdings in Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL)

Boston Partners purchased a new stake in Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 5,392,592 shares of the transportation company’s stock, valued at approximately $328,398,000. Boston Partners owned 0.84% of Delta Air Lines as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Generali Asset Management SPA SGR acquired a new position in Delta Air Lines in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $2,954,000. Evoke Wealth LLC increased its position in Delta Air Lines by 6.8% in the 4th quarter. Evoke Wealth LLC now owns 6,462 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $391,000 after acquiring an additional 410 shares during the period. Horizon Investments LLC increased its position in Delta Air Lines by 8.1% in the 4th quarter. Horizon Investments LLC now owns 9,501 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $575,000 after acquiring an additional 714 shares during the period. RD Lewis Holdings Inc. acquired a new position in Delta Air Lines in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $261,000. Finally, Axxcess Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of Delta Air Lines by 5.5% during the fourth quarter. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC now owns 9,639 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $583,000 after buying an additional 500 shares during the period. 69.93% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Delta Air Lines Trading Up 0.3 %

Shares of DAL opened at $46.88 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.32 and a current ratio of 0.37. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $62.08 and a 200-day moving average price of $58.12. The firm has a market cap of $30.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.79, a PEG ratio of 0.75 and a beta of 1.34. Delta Air Lines, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $37.29 and a fifty-two week high of $69.98.

Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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. The business had revenue of $15.56 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.20 billion. Delta Air Lines had a net margin of 5.61% and a return on equity of 30.41%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 9.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.28 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Delta Air Lines, Inc. will post 7.63 earnings per share for the current year.

Delta Air Lines Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 20th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 27th will be paid 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 is Thursday, February 27th. Delta Air Lines’s payout ratio is 11.26%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on DAL shares. UBS Group decreased their price objective 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. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Delta Air Lines from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Citigroup increased their target price on shares of Delta Air Lines from $65.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. Susquehanna increased 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 note on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Barclays cut their target price on shares of Delta Air Lines from $90.00 to $80.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Fourteen research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $76.60.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, 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 value of $554,568.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 19,756 shares in the company, valued at $1,304,291.12. The trade was a 29.83 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Rahul D. Samant sold 38,023 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.89, for a total transaction of $2,467,312.47. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 52,789 shares in the company, valued at $3,425,478.21. This represents a 41.87 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 162,886 shares of company stock worth $11,116,463 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.96% of the company’s stock.

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.