Quantitative Investment Management LLC Cuts Stock Holdings in Delta Air Lines, Inc. $DAL

Key Points

• Quantitative Investment Management LLC reduced its holdings in Delta Air Lines by 32.7% during the first quarter, now owning 79,485 shares worth approximately $3.47 million.
• Several hedge funds significantly increased their positions in Delta Air Lines, with Pacer Advisors Inc. boosting theirs by an astonishing 5,224.6%, now holding over 4.3 million shares valued at $189 million.
• Delta Air Lines recently increased its quarterly dividend to $0.1875 per share, reflecting a higher annualized dividend of $0.75 and a yield of 1.2%.

Quantitative Investment Management LLC lessened its stake in Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL - Free Report) by 32.7% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 79,485 shares of the transportation company's stock after selling 38,700 shares during the quarter. Quantitative Investment Management LLC's holdings in Delta Air Lines were worth $3,465,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of DAL. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Delta Air Lines by 5.9% during the 1st quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 161,395 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $7,037,000 after acquiring an additional 9,034 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in Delta Air Lines by 2.6% in the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,690,361 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $160,900,000 after acquiring an additional 92,772 shares during the last quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC lifted its stake in Delta Air Lines by 152.3% during the first quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 12,567 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $548,000 after purchasing an additional 7,586 shares during the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Delta Air Lines by 8.2% in the 1st quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 39,374 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $1,670,000 after purchasing an additional 2,973 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Delta Air Lines by 1,169.4% in the 1st quarter. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. now owns 7,248 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $316,000 after purchasing an additional 6,677 shares during the last quarter. 69.93% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Delta Air Lines Trading Up 1.2%

Shares of Delta Air Lines stock traded up $0.74 on Thursday, hitting $62.00. 5,823,066 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 10,573,330. The company has a market capitalization of $40.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.91 and a beta of 1.56. Delta Air Lines, Inc. has a one year low of $34.74 and a one year high of $69.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a current ratio of 0.38 and a quick ratio of 0.33. The company has a fifty day moving average of $54.46 and a two-hundred day moving average of $50.85.

Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 10th. The transportation company reported $2.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.01 by $0.09. Delta Air Lines had a net margin of 7.24% and a return on equity of 24.86%. The company had revenue of $15.51 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.16 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.36 EPS. Delta Air Lines's quarterly revenue was down .1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Delta Air Lines, Inc. will post 7.63 earnings per share for the current year.

Delta Air Lines Increases Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Delta Air Lines

In other Delta Air Lines news, EVP Steven M. Sear sold 18,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.96, for a total value of $1,007,280.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 97,505 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,456,379.80. This represents a 15.58% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Alain Bellemare sold 45,423 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 131,731 shares in the company, valued at $7,318,974.36. The trade was a 25.64% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 136,473 shares of company stock worth $7,663,496 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.88% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on DAL shares. Susquehanna Bancshares lifted their price target on shares of Delta Air Lines from $51.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a "positive" rating in a report on Friday, July 11th. Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Delta Air Lines in a research note on Friday, July 11th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on Delta Air Lines from $56.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, July 14th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Delta Air Lines from $88.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, July 11th. Finally, Wolfe Research lifted their price target on Delta Air Lines from $56.00 to $63.00 in a research note on Monday, July 14th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $66.21.

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.