Legal & General Group Plc Trims Stock Position in Alaska Air Group, Inc. (NYSE:ALK)

Legal & General Group Plc decreased its holdings in shares of Alaska Air Group, Inc. (NYSE:ALK) by 2.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 258,458 shares of the transportation company’s stock after selling 5,561 shares during the quarter. Legal & General Group Plc’s holdings in Alaska Air Group were worth $16,735,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Alaska Air Group by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 13,651,876 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $883,959,000 after purchasing an additional 56,409 shares during the period. FMR LLC boosted its stake in Alaska Air Group by 328.7% during the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 4,649,388 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $301,048,000 after buying an additional 3,564,749 shares during the period. Boston Partners increased its position in shares of Alaska Air Group by 6.9% during the fourth quarter. Boston Partners now owns 3,460,959 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $224,121,000 after acquiring an additional 222,780 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Alaska Air Group by 3.9% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,061,596 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $93,229,000 after acquiring an additional 78,186 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Alaska Air Group by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,432,052 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $92,725,000 after acquiring an additional 9,805 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.90% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Alaska Air Group

In other news, CFO Shane R. Tackett sold 22,893 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.74, for a total value of $1,733,915.82. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 31,873 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,414,061.02. This represents a 41.80 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP Andrea L. Schneider sold 1,830 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $73.32, for a total value of $134,175.60. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 20,286 shares in the company, valued at $1,487,369.52. This trade represents a 8.27 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 154,725 shares of company stock worth $11,217,263 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.68% of the company’s stock.

Alaska Air Group Stock Down 1.6 %

Shares of NYSE:ALK opened at $45.01 on Tuesday. Alaska Air Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $32.62 and a fifty-two week high of $78.08. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $59.56 and its 200 day moving average price is $57.99. The company has a quick ratio of 0.58, a current ratio of 0.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04. The stock has a market cap of $5.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.43 and a beta of 1.37.

Alaska Air Group (NYSE:ALK) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 22nd. The transportation company reported $0.97 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.45 by $0.52. Alaska Air Group had a net margin of 3.37% and a return on equity of 14.66%. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Alaska Air Group, Inc. will post 6.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ALK has been the subject of several research reports. UBS Group downgraded shares of Alaska Air Group from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their target price for the company from $75.00 to $54.00 in a report on Monday, April 7th. Bank of America dropped their price objective on Alaska Air Group from $80.00 to $70.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 3rd. TD Cowen increased their target price on Alaska Air Group from $85.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Citigroup lowered their target price on Alaska Air Group from $83.00 to $81.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. Finally, Susquehanna cut their price target on shares of Alaska Air Group from $95.00 to $55.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 7th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $70.15.

Alaska Air Group Profile

Alaska Air Group, Inc, through its subsidiaries, operates airlines. It operates through three segments: Mainline, Regional, and Horizon. The company offers scheduled air transportation services on Boeing jet aircraft for passengers and cargo in the United States, and in parts of Canada, Mexico, Costa Rica, Belize, Guatemala, and the Bahamas; and for passengers across a shorter distance network within the United States, Canada, and Mexico.