Delta Air Lines, Inc. $DAL Shares Sold by Kestra Advisory Services LLC

Key Points

• Kestra Advisory Services LLC reduced its holdings in Delta Air Lines by 13.3%, now owning approximately 79,088 shares valued at $3.45 million following the sale of 12,137 shares in Q1.
• Delta Air Lines declared a quarterly dividend increase to $0.1875, yielding an annualized dividend of $0.75, with a payout ratio of 10.87%.
• Delta reported $2.10 earnings per share for the latest quarter, exceeding the consensus estimate of $2.01, although revenue declined by 0.1% year-over-year.

Kestra Advisory Services LLC lowered its holdings in Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL - Free Report) by 13.3% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 79,088 shares of the transportation company's stock after selling 12,137 shares during the quarter. Kestra Advisory Services LLC's holdings in Delta Air Lines were worth $3,448,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in DAL. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT acquired a new stake in Delta Air Lines during the first quarter valued at $33,000. Continuum Advisory LLC grew 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 buying an additional 179 shares during the period. Hara Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Delta Air Lines during the first quarter valued at $35,000. N.E.W. Advisory Services LLC acquired a new stake in Delta Air Lines during the first quarter valued at $40,000. Finally, Private Wealth Management Group LLC grew its position in Delta Air Lines by 104.8% during the first quarter. Private Wealth Management Group LLC now owns 991 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $43,000 after buying an additional 507 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 69.93% of the company's stock.

Delta Air Lines Stock Performance

NYSE:DAL opened at $61.25 on Thursday. The company's 50-day moving average price is $54.46 and its 200-day moving average price is $50.85. 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 cap of $39.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.88, a P/E/G ratio of 1.91 and a beta of 1.56. Delta Air Lines, Inc. has a twelve month low of $34.74 and a twelve month high of $69.98.

Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 10th. The transportation company reported $2.10 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.01 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $15,507,000 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.16 billion. Delta Air Lines had a net margin of 7.24% and a return on equity of 24.86%. The company's revenue for the quarter was down .1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.36 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Delta Air Lines, Inc. will post 7.63 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Delta Air Lines Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 21st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 31st were paid a $0.1875 dividend. This is an increase from Delta Air Lines's previous quarterly dividend of $0.15. This represents a $0.75 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, July 31st. Delta Air Lines's payout ratio is 10.87%.

Insider Transactions at Delta Air Lines

In other news, EVP Steven M. Sear sold 18,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.96, for a total value of $1,007,280.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 97,505 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,456,379.80. This trade represents a 15.58% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Edward H. Bastian sold 35,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $56.28, for a total transaction 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 approximately $35,615,278.44. This represents a 5.24% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 136,473 shares of company stock valued at $7,663,496. Company insiders own 0.88% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

DAL has been the topic of several analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on shares of Delta Air Lines from $60.00 to $67.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, July 11th. Sanford C. Bernstein restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Delta Air Lines in a research report on Friday, July 11th. HSBC increased their price objective on shares of Delta Air Lines from $64.00 to $69.20 in a report on Friday, July 11th. UBS Group set a $72.00 price objective on shares of Delta Air Lines in a report on Friday, July 11th. Finally, Susquehanna set a $65.00 price objective on shares of Delta Air Lines and gave the company a "positive" rating in a report on Friday, July 11th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $66.21.

Delta Air Lines Company 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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