Choreo LLC Reduces Stake in Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL)

Key Points

• Choreo LLC reduced its stake in Delta Air Lines by 22.0% during the first quarter, now holding 18,453 shares valued at approximately $805,000.
• Multiple institutional investors increased their stakes in Delta Air Lines, with Ninety One UK Ltd boosting its position by an astonishing 1,469.9%.
• Delta Air Lines plans to increase its quarterly dividend from $0.15 to $0.1875 per share, reflecting a 1.37% yield.

Choreo LLC cut its stake in shares of Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL - Free Report) by 22.0% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 18,453 shares of the transportation company's stock after selling 5,202 shares during the period. Choreo LLC's holdings in Delta Air Lines were worth $805,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Ninety One UK Ltd lifted its position in 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 worth $144,273,000 after buying an additional 3,098,237 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Delta Air Lines in the 4th quarter worth about $152,342,000. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. boosted its stake in shares of Delta Air Lines by 405.3% during the 4th quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. now owns 3,054,285 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $184,784,000 after purchasing an additional 2,449,874 shares during the period. 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 purchasing an additional 2,370,795 shares during the last quarter. Finally, FMR LLC raised its position in Delta Air Lines by 29.3% in the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 9,955,818 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $602,327,000 after purchasing an additional 2,254,560 shares during the period. 69.93% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have issued reports on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $67.00 target price on Delta Air Lines and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, July 11th. Susquehanna Bancshares boosted their price objective on Delta Air Lines from $51.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a "positive" rating in a report on Friday, July 11th. Susquehanna set a $65.00 target price on Delta Air Lines and gave the stock a "positive" rating in a research note on Friday, July 11th. Barclays lifted their target price on Delta Air Lines from $58.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, July 11th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price target on shares of Delta Air Lines from $53.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Three research 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $66.21.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Edward H. Bastian sold 35,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $56.28, for a total value of $1,969,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 632,823 shares in the company, valued at $35,615,278.44. The trade was a 5.24% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Peter W. Carter sold 17,550 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $57.19, for a total transaction of $1,003,684.50. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 191,442 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,948,567.98. This represents a 8.40% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 133,973 shares of company stock valued at $7,511,746 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.88% of the company's stock.

Delta Air Lines Stock Performance

DAL opened at $54.84 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. 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 moving average of $50.84 and a two-hundred day moving average of $52.35. The firm has a market capitalization of $35.81 billion, a PE ratio of 7.95, a P/E/G ratio of 1.70 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 the consensus estimate of $2.01 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $15,507,000 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $16.16 billion. Delta Air Lines had a net margin of 7.24% and a return on equity of 24.86%. The firm's revenue was down .1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.36 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that Delta Air Lines, Inc. will post 7.63 EPS for the current year.

Delta Air Lines Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 21st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 31st will be paid a dividend of $0.1875 per share. This is a boost from Delta Air Lines's previous quarterly dividend of $0.15. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 31st. This represents a $0.75 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.37%. Delta Air Lines's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 8.70%.

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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