Delta Air Lines, Inc. $DAL Shares Sold by Compass Capital Management Inc.

Key Points

• Compass Capital Management cut its Delta Air Lines position by 22.6% in the fourth quarter, selling 37,026 shares and leaving it with 126,819 shares valued at about $8.8 million.
• Wall Street sentiment remains mostly positive: several analysts raised price targets, and the stock carries a Moderate Buy consensus with a target price of $80.85.
• Delta reported better-than-expected quarterly results, with EPS of $0.64 on revenue of $14.20 billion, and it recently paid a quarterly dividend of $0.1875 per share.

Compass Capital Management Inc. lessened its holdings in shares of Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL - Free Report) by 22.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 126,819 shares of the transportation company's stock after selling 37,026 shares during the quarter. Compass Capital Management Inc.'s holdings in Delta Air Lines were worth $8,801,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. AlphaQuest LLC raised its holdings in Delta Air Lines by 90.6% in the third quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 444 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 211 shares in the last quarter. Accredited Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in Delta Air Lines by 1,983.3% in the third quarter. Accredited Wealth Management LLC now owns 500 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 476 shares in the last quarter. Lloyd Advisory Services LLC. acquired a new stake in Delta Air Lines in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. SWAN Capital LLC raised its holdings in Delta Air Lines by 1,016.0% in the third quarter. SWAN Capital LLC now owns 558 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 508 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Camelot Portfolios LLC acquired a new stake in Delta Air Lines in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 69.93% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

DAL has been the topic of several analyst reports. TD Cowen raised their target price on shares of Delta Air Lines from $84.00 to $92.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 27th. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Delta Air Lines from $95.00 to $98.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 26th. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Delta Air Lines from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a report on Friday, March 6th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of Delta Air Lines from $87.00 to $75.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, March 16th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein raised their target price on shares of Delta Air Lines from $81.00 to $88.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, May 11th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-three have assigned a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $80.85.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP John E. Laughter sold 69,304 shares of Delta Air Lines stock in a transaction on Friday, April 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.15, for a total value of $4,723,067.60. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 69,369 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,727,497.35. The trade was a 49.98% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Allison C. Ausband sold 9,710 shares of Delta Air Lines stock in a transaction on Friday, May 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $76.00, for a total transaction of $737,960.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 138,854 shares in the company, valued at $10,552,904. The trade was a 6.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 149,635 shares of company stock valued at $10,833,855 in the last ninety days. 0.80% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Delta Air Lines Stock Up 7.1%

DAL stock opened at $81.91 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.42, a quick ratio of 0.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54. Delta Air Lines, Inc. has a twelve month low of $45.28 and a twelve month high of $83.83. The company's 50 day moving average is $72.72 and its two-hundred day moving average is $69.44. The stock has a market cap of $53.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.94, a PEG ratio of 1.08 and a beta of 1.30.

Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 8th. The transportation company reported $0.64 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.61 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $14.20 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $14.05 billion. Delta Air Lines had a net margin of 6.87% and a return on equity of 20.28%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 9.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.46 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Delta Air Lines, Inc. will post 5.37 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Delta Air Lines Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 4th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 14th were issued a $0.1875 dividend. This represents a $0.75 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 14th. Delta Air Lines's payout ratio is presently 10.93%.

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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