Delta Air Lines, Inc. $DAL Shares Bought by Bank of New York Mellon Corp

Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its holdings in Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL) by 23.9% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 9,496,296 shares of the transportation company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,834,385 shares during the quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp’s holdings in Delta Air Lines were worth $659,043,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. First Financial Bank Trust Division grew its stake in shares of Delta Air Lines by 3.3% in the 4th quarter. First Financial Bank Trust Division now owns 4,721 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $328,000 after purchasing an additional 150 shares during the last quarter. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC grew its stake in shares of Delta Air Lines by 2.6% in the 4th quarter. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC now owns 6,022 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $454,000 after purchasing an additional 151 shares during the last quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Delta Air Lines by 2.4% in the 4th quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 6,472 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $449,000 after purchasing an additional 152 shares during the last quarter. LRI Investments LLC grew its stake in shares of Delta Air Lines by 3.4% in the 4th quarter. LRI Investments LLC now owns 4,644 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $322,000 after purchasing an additional 154 shares during the last quarter. Finally, JFS Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Delta Air Lines by 25.4% in the 4th quarter. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 794 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $55,000 after purchasing an additional 161 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 69.93% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP John E. Laughter sold 15,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.61, for a total transaction of $1,074,150.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 54,369 shares in the company, valued at $3,893,364.09. This trade represents a 21.62% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Allison C. Ausband sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $79.00, for a total transaction of $395,000.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 133,854 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,574,466. This trade represents a 3.60% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 149,635 shares of company stock worth $10,833,855 in the last quarter. 0.80% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Delta Air Lines Trading Down 1.3%

Shares of DAL stock opened at $78.95 on Thursday. Delta Air Lines, Inc. has a 52-week low of $45.28 and a 52-week high of $83.83. The stock has a market cap of $51.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.51, a P/E/G ratio of 1.13 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a quick ratio of 0.36 and a current ratio of 0.42. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $71.09 and a 200-day moving average of $68.49.

Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 8th. The transportation company reported $0.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.61 by $0.03. Delta Air Lines had a net margin of 6.87% and a return on equity of 20.28%. The company had revenue of $14.20 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.05 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.46 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 9.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Delta Air Lines, Inc. will post 5.37 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Delta Air Lines Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 4th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 14th will be given a dividend of $0.1875 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 14th. This represents a $0.75 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.9%. Delta Air Lines’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 10.93%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on shares of Delta Air Lines from $78.00 to $81.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, April 13th. TD Cowen raised their price objective on Delta Air Lines from $84.00 to $92.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 27th. Zacks Research raised shares of Delta Air Lines from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 15th. Bank of America lowered their price objective on shares of Delta Air Lines from $80.00 to $78.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 1st. Finally, BNP Paribas Exane decreased their target price on shares of Delta Air Lines from $85.00 to $81.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-three have issued a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $80.85.

Delta Air Lines Company Profile

Delta Air Lines is a major U.S.-based global airline that provides scheduled passenger and cargo air transportation, aircraft maintenance and repair services, and related travel products. Its operations include mainline domestic and international passenger services, a branded regional network operating under the Delta Connection name, dedicated air cargo carriage, and in-house maintenance, repair and overhaul through Delta TechOps. Delta offers a range of cabin products for different customer segments, including premium business-class service on long-haul routes and tiered economy offerings on domestic and international flights, and it markets customer loyalty benefits through the SkyMiles frequent-flyer program.

The carrier operates a mixed fleet of narrow- and wide-body aircraft from multiple U.S.