Bristol John W & Co. Inc. NY Sells 44,907 Shares of Delta Air Lines, Inc. $DAL

Key Points

• Bristol John W & Co. trimmed its Delta position by 44,907 shares (a 1.9% reduction), leaving it with about 2,346,961 shares — roughly 0.36% of Delta and the firm's 16th-largest holding.
• Significant insider selling: EVP Steven M. Sear sold 38,600 shares at $75.05 and CEO Edward H. Bastian sold 173,230 shares at $71, with insiders offloading a total of 620,550 shares worth $44.13M in the last quarter.
• Delta's fundamentals and outlook: market cap ≈ $37.8B, P/E 7.54, Q1 2026 EPS guidance 0.50–0.90 and FY2026 6.50–7.50, plus a declared quarterly dividend of $0.1875 (annual $0.75, yield 1.3%); analysts' consensus is a Moderate Buy with a $79.43 price target.

Bristol John W & Co. Inc. NY reduced its position in shares of Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL - Free Report) by 1.9% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,346,961 shares of the transportation company's stock after selling 44,907 shares during the period. Delta Air Lines accounts for approximately 2.1% of Bristol John W & Co. Inc. NY's holdings, making the stock its 16th biggest position. Bristol John W & Co. Inc. NY owned about 0.36% of Delta Air Lines worth $133,190,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its position in Delta Air Lines by 33.5% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 9,174 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $555,000 after acquiring an additional 2,302 shares during the last quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Delta Air Lines in the first quarter valued at about $178,000. Sivia Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Delta Air Lines in the second quarter worth about $555,000. AE Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Delta Air Lines by 9.7% in the second quarter. AE Wealth Management LLC now owns 26,179 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $1,287,000 after purchasing an additional 2,319 shares during the period. Finally, Aviva PLC lifted its position in shares of Delta Air Lines by 6.6% during the 2nd quarter. Aviva PLC now owns 169,997 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $8,360,000 after purchasing an additional 10,525 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 69.93% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Steven M. Sear sold 38,600 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.05, for a total transaction of $2,896,930.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 104,404 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,835,520.20. This trade represents a 26.99% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Edward H. Bastian sold 173,230 shares of Delta Air Lines stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.00, for a total transaction of $12,299,330.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 632,823 shares in the company, valued at approximately $44,930,433. This trade represents a 21.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 620,550 shares of company stock worth $44,127,667. Insiders own 0.88% of the company's stock.

Delta Air Lines Price Performance

Shares of DAL stock opened at $57.86 on Friday. Delta Air Lines, Inc. has a 12 month low of $34.74 and a 12 month high of $76.39. The company has a market capitalization of $37.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.54, a P/E/G ratio of 0.59 and a beta of 1.34. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $68.17 and a two-hundred day moving average of $64.08. The company has a current ratio of 0.40, a quick ratio of 0.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60.

Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 13th. The transportation company reported $1.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.53 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $14.61 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $15.80 billion. Delta Air Lines had a return on equity of 20.96% and a net margin of 7.90%.Delta Air Lines's quarterly revenue was up 2.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.85 earnings per share. Delta Air Lines has set its Q1 2026 guidance at 0.500-0.900 EPS and its FY 2026 guidance at 6.500-7.500 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Delta Air Lines, Inc. will post 7.63 EPS for the current year.

Delta Air Lines Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 19th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 26th will be issued a $0.1875 dividend. This represents a $0.75 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 26th. Delta Air Lines's payout ratio is 9.78%.

Delta Air Lines News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Delta Air Lines this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Citi Research put Delta on a 30-day "positive catalyst" watch, which suggests potential near-term upside if catalysts materialize. Citi positive catalyst watch
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts remain constructive in places: Citi’s John Godyn reiterated a Buy on Delta citing resilient earnings, refinery exposure and trans‑Atlantic pricing upside — supportive evidence for medium-term earnings upside. TipRanks article
• Positive Sentiment: Some bulls still see large upside — coverage highlights a Wall Street call that models roughly 50% upside this year versus current levels, keeping a possible recovery scenario on the table. 24/7 Wall St piece
• Neutral Sentiment: Delta will present at the J.P. Morgan Industrials Conference on March 17 — a near-term event that could provide fresh guidance detail or reassure investors. J.P. Morgan presentation
• Neutral Sentiment: Coverage examining whether Delta is now attractively valued notes recent weakness but also longer‑term gains; this frames the stock as a value/turnaround debate. Valuation analysis
• Neutral Sentiment: Analysts point out Delta has underperformed broader indices recently even as consensus targets remain well above the current price, creating scope for both downside and rebound. Barchart analysis
• Negative Sentiment: Jefferies cut its price target to $72 from $84 (still a Buy) — a meaningful reduction in upside expectations that likely dampened investor sentiment. Jefferies PT cut
• Negative Sentiment: Rothschild & Co Redburn trimmed its target to $70 from $72 while keeping a Buy — another downward tweak to street targets. Rothschild target cut
• Negative Sentiment: TD Cowen downgraded Delta from "strong-buy" to "hold," reducing conviction among buy‑side investors and potentially lowering demand for shares. TD Cowen downgrade
• Negative Sentiment: Broader market weakness — a large index selloff tied to an oil price surge — is pressuring cyclical airline stocks today and likely amplified Delta’s decline. Market selloff coverage
• Negative Sentiment: Geopolitical/airspace risk: Middle East disruptions and flight cancellations in the region remain a downside operational risk for airlines. Middle East flight cancellations

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have issued reports on DAL shares. Citigroup reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Delta Air Lines in a report on Wednesday, January 7th. Barclays upped their price target on Delta Air Lines from $65.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, January 12th. HSBC raised their price objective on shares of Delta Air Lines from $73.70 to $80.20 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 14th. Seaport Research Partners boosted their target price on shares of Delta Air Lines from $80.00 to $89.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, January 9th. Finally, UBS Group cut their target price on shares of Delta Air Lines from $90.00 to $87.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 14th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-one have given a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Delta Air Lines currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $79.43.

Delta Air Lines Company Profile

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.

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