Cerity Partners LLC Sells 5,485 Shares of Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL)

Cerity Partners LLC reduced its stake in shares of Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL - Free Report) by 1.7% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 315,757 shares of the transportation company's stock after selling 5,485 shares during the quarter. Cerity Partners LLC's holdings in Delta Air Lines were worth $13,767,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in DAL. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Delta Air Lines by 414.4% during the fourth quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC now owns 535 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 431 shares during the period. Graney & King LLC bought a new position in Delta Air Lines during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Continuum Advisory LLC raised its position in 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 acquiring an additional 179 shares in the last quarter. Hara Capital LLC bought a new position in Delta Air Lines during the first quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Finally, Crowley Wealth Management Inc. bought a new position in Delta Air Lines during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $45,000. 69.93% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $67.00 target price on shares of Delta Air Lines and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, July 11th. Susquehanna Bancshares boosted their target price on shares of Delta Air Lines from $51.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a "positive" rating in a research note on Friday, July 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Delta Air Lines from $66.00 to $72.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, July 11th. Barclays boosted their price objective on Delta Air Lines from $58.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, July 11th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut Delta Air Lines from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $66.21.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Alain Bellemare sold 45,423 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, July 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.56, for a total value of $2,523,701.88. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 131,731 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,318,974.36. This represents a 25.64% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.96% of the company's stock.

Delta Air Lines Stock Up 0.2%

Shares of DAL traded up $0.13 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $55.84. The stock had a trading volume of 5,447,010 shares, compared to its average volume of 9,898,777. Delta Air Lines, Inc. has a 12 month low of $34.74 and a 12 month high of $69.98. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $49.90 and a 200 day simple moving average of $52.60. 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 company has a market capitalization of $36.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.09, a P/E/G ratio of 1.82 and a beta of 1.49.

Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 10th. The transportation company reported $2.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates 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 company had revenue of $15,507,000 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $16.16 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.36 EPS. Delta Air Lines's quarterly revenue was down .1% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research 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 declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 21st. Investors of record on Thursday, July 31st will be given a $0.1875 dividend. 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 yield of 1.34%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 31st. Delta Air Lines's dividend payout ratio is presently 8.70%.

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.