Banque Pictet & Cie SA Buys Shares of 4,772 Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL)

Banque Pictet & Cie SA bought a new position in shares of Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 4,772 shares of the transportation company's stock, valued at approximately $208,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in Delta Air Lines by 414.4% in the 4th quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC now owns 535 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 431 shares during the period. Graney & King LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Delta Air Lines in the 4th quarter valued at $34,000. Continuum Advisory LLC boosted its stake in shares of Delta Air Lines by 44.2% in the 4th quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 584 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 179 shares in the last quarter. Crowley Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Delta Air Lines in the 4th quarter valued at $45,000. Finally, Millstone Evans Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Delta Air Lines in the 4th quarter valued at $46,000. Institutional investors own 69.93% of the company's stock.

Delta Air Lines Price Performance

NYSE DAL traded down $0.06 on Friday, hitting $56.72. 17,769,124 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 9,923,060. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $49.43 and a two-hundred day moving average of $52.74. The company has a market cap of $37.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.22, a P/E/G ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.49. The company has a current ratio of 0.38, a quick ratio of 0.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74. Delta Air Lines, Inc. has a 1-year low of $34.74 and a 1-year high of $69.98.

Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 10th. The transportation company reported $2.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.01 by $0.09. Delta Air Lines had a net margin of 7.24% and a return on equity of 24.86%. The company had revenue of $15,507,000 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.16 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.36 EPS. The company's revenue was down .1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that Delta Air Lines, Inc. will post 7.63 EPS for the current year.

Delta Air Lines Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 21st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 31st will be given a dividend of $0.1875 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 31st. This is an increase from Delta Air Lines's previous quarterly dividend of $0.15. This represents a $0.75 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.32%. Delta Air Lines's dividend payout ratio is presently 10.64%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Delta Air Lines from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Jefferies Financial Group restated a "hold" rating and issued a $46.00 target price (down previously from $85.00) on shares of Delta Air Lines in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on shares of Delta Air Lines from $60.00 to $67.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday. UBS Group reduced their target price on shares of Delta Air Lines from $66.00 to $63.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, July 7th. Finally, Raymond James Financial reduced their target price on shares of Delta Air Lines from $80.00 to $62.00 and set a "strong-buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $64.69.

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.