Boston Partners Decreases Stake in Delta Air Lines, Inc. $DAL

Boston Partners reduced its stake in shares of Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL - Free Report) by 99.5% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 28,458 shares of the transportation company's stock after selling 5,364,134 shares during the period. Boston Partners' holdings in Delta Air Lines were worth $1,240,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its position in shares of Delta Air Lines by 5,224.6% in the first 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 increased its position in shares of Delta Air Lines by 1,469.9% in the first quarter. Ninety One UK Ltd now owns 3,309,020 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $144,273,000 after buying an additional 3,098,237 shares in the last quarter. Nuveen LLC purchased a new position in shares of Delta Air Lines in the first quarter valued at $122,849,000. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. increased its position in shares of Delta Air Lines by 405.3% in 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its position in shares of Delta Air Lines by 66.9% in the first 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. 69.93% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Delta Air Lines Trading Up 2.2%

Shares of DAL stock opened at $60.27 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $39.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.73, a PEG ratio of 1.88 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 company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a current ratio of 0.38 and a quick ratio of 0.33. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $52.64 and its 200-day simple moving average is $51.03.

Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL - Get Free Report) last announced 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 business had revenue of $15,507,000 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.16 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.36 EPS. The company's revenue was down .1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Delta Air Lines, Inc. will post 7.63 EPS for the current year.

Delta Air Lines Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 21st. Investors of record on Thursday, July 31st will be issued a $0.1875 dividend. 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.2%. Delta Air Lines's payout ratio is 10.87%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Delta Air Lines

In related news, EVP Alain Bellemare sold 45,423 shares of the firm'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 value of $2,523,701.88. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 131,731 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,318,974.36. This trade represents a 25.64% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Steven M. Sear sold 18,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.96, for a total transaction of $1,007,280.00. Following the completion of 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 133,973 shares of company stock worth $7,511,746. 0.96% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on DAL shares. Susquehanna set a $65.00 price target on Delta Air Lines and gave the company a "positive" rating in a research report on Friday, July 11th. UBS Group set a $72.00 price target on Delta Air Lines in a research report on Friday, July 11th. BNP Paribas Exane lifted their price objective 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. HSBC lifted their price objective on Delta Air Lines from $64.00 to $69.20 in a research report on Friday, July 11th. Finally, Citigroup lifted their price objective on Delta Air Lines from $62.00 to $65.50 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, July 11th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Delta Air Lines currently has an average rating of "Moderate 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.

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