Delta Air Lines, Inc. $DAL Shares Acquired by American Century Companies Inc.

Key Points

• American Century Companies Inc. increased its holdings in Delta Air Lines by 40.1%, reaching a total value of $56.70 million after acquiring additional shares in the 1st quarter.
• Executives Steven M. Sear and Edward H. Bastian sold significant shares of Delta Air Lines, with Sear's transaction representing a 15.58% decrease in his position, and Bastian's a 5.24% decrease.
• Delta Air Lines announced a quarterly dividend increase to $0.1875 per share, resulting in a dividend yield of 1.2%, with the ex-dividend date set for July 31st.

American Century Companies Inc. lifted its position in Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL - Free Report) by 40.1% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,300,516 shares of the transportation company's stock after acquiring an additional 372,301 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. owned 0.20% of Delta Air Lines worth $56,703,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its position in Delta Air Lines by 5,224.6% during the 1st quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 4,336,709 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $189,081,000 after buying an additional 4,255,262 shares in the last quarter. Ninety One UK Ltd raised its holdings in Delta Air Lines by 1,469.9% in the 1st quarter. Ninety One UK Ltd now owns 3,309,020 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $144,273,000 after purchasing an additional 3,098,237 shares during the period. Nuveen LLC purchased a new position in shares of Delta Air Lines in the first quarter valued at about $122,849,000. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. boosted its stake in Delta Air Lines by 405.3% during the fourth quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. now owns 3,054,285 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $184,784,000 after buying an additional 2,449,874 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its holdings in Delta Air Lines by 66.9% during the 1st quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 5,915,545 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $257,918,000 after buying an additional 2,370,795 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 69.93% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Delta Air Lines

In other Delta Air Lines news, CEO Edward H. Bastian sold 35,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $56.28, for a total transaction of $1,969,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 632,823 shares of the company's stock, valued at $35,615,278.44. This trade represents a 5.24% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Steven M. Sear sold 18,000 shares of Delta Air Lines stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.96, for a total value of $1,007,280.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 97,505 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,456,379.80. The trade was a 15.58% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 136,473 shares of company stock valued at $7,663,496 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.88% of the company's stock.

Delta Air Lines Price Performance

Shares of NYSE DAL traded up $3.7920 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $61.6320. The stock had a trading volume of 10,298,637 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,192,062. Delta Air Lines, Inc. has a 1 year low of $34.74 and a 1 year high of $69.98. The company has a quick ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 0.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74. The company has a market capitalization of $40.24 billion, a PE ratio of 8.93, a P/E/G ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.56. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $53.69 and a 200-day simple moving average of $51.00.

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

Delta Air Lines Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 21st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 31st were paid a dividend of $0.1875 per share. This represents a $0.75 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.2%. This is a positive change from Delta Air Lines's previous quarterly dividend of $0.15. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, July 31st. Delta Air Lines's payout ratio is 10.87%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

DAL has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. TD Cowen lifted their target price on Delta Air Lines from $55.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, July 14th. HSBC boosted their price target on Delta Air Lines from $64.00 to $69.20 in a research report on Friday, July 11th. BNP Paribas Exane boosted their price target on Delta Air Lines from $58.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, July 11th. Citigroup increased their price target on Delta Air Lines from $62.00 to $65.50 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, July 11th. Finally, UBS Group set a $72.00 price target on Delta Air Lines in a research note on Friday, July 11th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Delta Air Lines presently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $66.21.

Delta Air Lines Profile

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.