Bessemer Group Inc. Has $2.60 Million Position in Delta Air Lines, Inc. $DAL

Bessemer Group Inc. grew its holdings in Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL) by 105.3% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 39,018 shares of the transportation company’s stock after purchasing an additional 20,012 shares during the quarter. Bessemer Group Inc.’s holdings in Delta Air Lines were worth $2,595,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its stake in Delta Air Lines by 137.4% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 13,811,787 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $958,538,000 after purchasing an additional 7,994,004 shares during the period. Life Cycle Investment Partners Ltd bought a new stake in Delta Air Lines in the fourth quarter worth approximately $471,532,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its stake in Delta Air Lines by 29.2% in the first quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 12,270,241 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $815,726,000 after buying an additional 2,773,945 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in Delta Air Lines by 1,579.2% in the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 2,673,400 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $185,534,000 after buying an additional 2,514,193 shares during the period. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Delta Air Lines by 44.3% in the fourth quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 6,155,776 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $426,441,000 after buying an additional 1,890,521 shares during the period. 69.93% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Delta Air Lines Stock Up 0.1%

DAL stock opened at $84.61 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $83.04 and its 200 day simple moving average is $73.29. The company has a market cap of $55.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.04 and a beta of 1.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a quick ratio of 0.35 and a current ratio of 0.42. Delta Air Lines, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $50.44 and a fifty-two week high of $95.68.

Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 9th. The transportation company reported $1.56 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.49 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $17.67 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $17.43 billion. Delta Air Lines had a return on equity of 17.52% and a net margin of 5.79%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 18.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.10 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that Delta Air Lines, Inc. will post 6.66 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Delta Air Lines Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 30th. Investors of record on Thursday, July 9th will be issued a $0.215 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 9th. This represents a $0.86 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.0%. This is an increase from Delta Air Lines’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.19. Delta Air Lines’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 14.26%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have issued reports on DAL. UBS Group increased their price target on Delta Air Lines from $107.00 to $112.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, July 13th. Raymond James Financial lowered shares of Delta Air Lines from a “strong-buy” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $80.00 to $104.00 in a research note on Monday, July 6th. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Delta Air Lines from $106.00 to $110.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Sunday, July 12th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on shares of Delta Air Lines from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, July 10th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald set a $112.00 price target on shares of Delta Air Lines in a report on Tuesday, July 14th. Twenty-three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $100.40.

Insider Buying and Selling at Delta Air Lines

In other Delta Air Lines news, EVP Allison C. Ausband sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $79.00, for a total transaction of $395,000.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 133,854 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,574,466. This represents a 3.60% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Alain Bellemare sold 25,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $81.44, for a total transaction of $2,036,000.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 95,025 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,738,836. The trade was a 20.83% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last three months, insiders sold 65,331 shares of company stock valued at $5,036,638. 0.80% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

About Delta Air Lines

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.