Banco Santander S.A. Has $5.67 Million Position in Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL)

Key Points

• Banco Santander S.A. significantly increased its stake in Delta Air Lines by 2,569.1%, resulting in ownership of 129,931 shares valued at approximately $5.67 million.
• Delta Air Lines recently increased its dividend from $0.15 to $0.1875 per share, reflecting a more favorable dividend yield of 1.5%.
• Several analyst firms have raised their price targets for Delta Air Lines, with estimates ranging from $67.00 to $72.00, indicating a positive outlook for the stock.

Banco Santander S.A. raised its stake in shares of Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL - Free Report) by 2,569.1% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 129,931 shares of the transportation company's stock after buying an additional 125,063 shares during the period. Banco Santander S.A.'s holdings in Delta Air Lines were worth $5,665,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Continuum Advisory LLC raised its position in shares of Delta Air Lines by 44.2% during the fourth quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 584 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 179 shares during the last quarter. Utah Retirement Systems raised its position in shares of Delta Air Lines by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Utah Retirement Systems now owns 52,725 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $3,190,000 after buying an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Coppell Advisory Solutions LLC raised its position in shares of Delta Air Lines by 13.0% during the fourth quarter. Coppell Advisory Solutions LLC now owns 1,791 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $109,000 after buying an additional 206 shares during the last quarter. Insigneo Advisory Services LLC raised its position in shares of Delta Air Lines by 2.8% during the fourth quarter. Insigneo Advisory Services LLC now owns 7,671 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $464,000 after buying an additional 212 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nissay Asset Management Corp Japan ADV raised its position in shares of Delta Air Lines by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. Nissay Asset Management Corp Japan ADV now owns 21,148 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $1,296,000 after buying an additional 222 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 69.93% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Delta Air Lines

In other news, EVP Alain Bellemare sold 45,423 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.56, for a total transaction of $2,523,701.88. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 131,731 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,318,974.36. This represents a 25.64% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Steven M. Sear sold 18,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.96, for a total transaction of $1,007,280.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 97,505 shares in the company, 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 a total of 133,973 shares of company stock valued at $7,511,746 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.88% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

DAL has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on shares of Delta Air Lines from $60.00 to $67.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, July 11th. Raymond James Financial upped their target price on shares of Delta Air Lines from $60.00 to $68.00 in a research note on Friday, July 11th. Citigroup upped their target price on shares of Delta Air Lines from $62.00 to $65.50 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, July 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Delta Air Lines from $66.00 to $72.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, July 11th. Finally, UBS Group set a $72.00 target price on shares of Delta Air Lines in a research note on Friday, July 11th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $66.21.

Delta Air Lines Price Performance

Shares of Delta Air Lines stock opened at $51.15 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.38, a quick ratio of 0.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74. The stock has a market capitalization of $33.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.41, a P/E/G ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 1.56. Delta Air Lines, Inc. has a 1-year low of $34.74 and a 1-year high of $69.98. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $51.29 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $51.95.

Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 10th. The transportation company reported $2.10 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 firm had revenue of $15,507,000 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $16.16 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.36 earnings per share. The company's quarterly 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 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Delta Air Lines Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 21st. Stockholders 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 a positive change from Delta Air Lines's previous quarterly dividend of $0.15. This represents a $0.75 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.5%. Delta Air Lines's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 10.87%.

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.

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