Delta Air Lines, Inc. $DAL Shares Sold by Bank of Nova Scotia

Bank of Nova Scotia reduced its holdings in Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL - Free Report) by 30.0% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 46,985 shares of the transportation company's stock after selling 20,113 shares during the period. Bank of Nova Scotia's holdings in Delta Air Lines were worth $3,123,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of DAL. Capital International Investors lifted its stake in Delta Air Lines by 4.4% in the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 24,211,101 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $1,680,249,000 after purchasing an additional 1,012,265 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its position in shares of Delta Air Lines by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 23,163,644 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $1,607,557,000 after purchasing an additional 165,729 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Delta Air Lines by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 17,413,841 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $1,215,766,000 after purchasing an additional 202,865 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its holdings in shares of Delta Air Lines by 137.4% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 13,811,787 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $958,538,000 after purchasing an additional 7,994,004 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased its holdings in shares of Delta Air Lines by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 12,310,804 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $854,370,000 after purchasing an additional 56,455 shares during the last quarter. 69.93% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Alain Bellemare sold 25,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $81.44, for a total value of $2,036,000.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 95,025 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,738,836. This represents a 20.83% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Allison C. Ausband sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $79.00, for a total transaction of $395,000.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 133,854 shares of the company's stock, valued at $10,574,466. The trade was a 3.60% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 65,331 shares of company stock worth $5,036,638 over the last three months. Insiders own 0.80% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Susquehanna boosted their price objective on Delta Air Lines from $78.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock a "positive" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 7th. Seaport Research Partners raised their target price on Delta Air Lines from $81.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 9th. Raymond James Financial lowered Delta Air Lines from a "strong-buy" rating to an "outperform" rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $80.00 to $104.00 in a report on Monday, July 6th. Wolfe Research lowered their price target on shares of Delta Air Lines from $81.00 to $73.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 7th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on shares of Delta Air Lines from $80.00 to $105.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, July 2nd. Twenty-three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Delta Air Lines has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $100.40.

Delta Air Lines Price Performance

DAL stock opened at $89.48 on Wednesday. Delta Air Lines, Inc. has a 52-week low of $50.44 and a 52-week high of $95.68. The company has a quick ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 0.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48. The stock has a market cap of $58.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.09 and a beta of 1.29. The business has a fifty day moving average of $84.56 and a two-hundred day moving average of $73.80.

Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 9th. The transportation company reported $1.56 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.49 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $17.67 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $17.43 billion. Delta Air Lines had a return on equity of 17.52% and a net margin of 5.79%.The company's revenue was up 18.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.10 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Delta Air Lines, Inc. will post 6.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Delta Air Lines Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 30th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 9th will be given a dividend of $0.215 per share. This is a boost from Delta Air Lines's previous quarterly dividend of $0.19. This represents a $0.86 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 9th. Delta Air Lines's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 14.26%.

About Delta Air Lines

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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