Delta Air Lines, Inc. $DAL Stock Position Lifted by Ameriprise Financial Inc.

Key Points

• Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its position in Delta Air Lines by 347.4%, owning approximately 0.65% of the company, which is valued at $184.9 million.
• Delta Air Lines recently announced a quarterly dividend increase to $0.1875 per share, representing a 1.2% yield, with a dividend payout ratio of 10.87%.
• JPMorgan Chase & Co. and other analysts have raised their price targets for Delta Air Lines, with JPMorgan increasing it from $66.00 to $72.00, giving the stock an "overweight" rating.

Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its position in shares of Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL - Free Report) by 347.4% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 4,232,974 shares of the transportation company's stock after buying an additional 3,286,741 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. owned about 0.65% of Delta Air Lines worth $184,909,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Continuum Advisory LLC lifted its holdings in Delta Air Lines by 44.2% during the 4th quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 584 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 179 shares during the last quarter. Utah Retirement Systems lifted its holdings in Delta Air Lines by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Utah Retirement Systems now owns 52,725 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $3,190,000 after buying an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. JT Stratford LLC lifted its holdings in Delta Air Lines by 1.2% during the 1st quarter. JT Stratford LLC now owns 16,403 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $715,000 after buying an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Coppell Advisory Solutions LLC lifted its holdings in Delta Air Lines by 13.0% during the 4th quarter. Coppell Advisory Solutions LLC now owns 1,791 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $109,000 after buying an additional 206 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nissay Asset Management Corp Japan ADV lifted its holdings in Delta Air Lines by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. Nissay Asset Management Corp Japan ADV now owns 21,148 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $1,296,000 after buying an additional 222 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 69.93% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Steven M. Sear sold 18,000 shares of Delta Air Lines stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.96, for a total transaction of $1,007,280.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 97,505 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,456,379.80. This trade represents a 15.58% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Peter W. Carter sold 17,550 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $57.19, for a total value of $1,003,684.50. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 191,442 shares in the company, valued at $10,948,567.98. This represents a 8.40% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 136,473 shares of company stock worth $7,663,496 over the last ninety days. 0.88% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Delta Air Lines Stock Up 6.6%

Shares of Delta Air Lines stock opened at $61.6320 on Friday. The business's fifty day moving average price is $53.69 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $50.88. 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 market capitalization of $40.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.93, a PEG ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 1.56. Delta Air Lines, Inc. has a 1-year low of $34.74 and a 1-year high of $69.98.

Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 10th. The transportation company reported $2.10 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 return on equity of 24.86% and a net margin of 7.24%.The firm's revenue for the quarter was down .1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.36 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Delta Air Lines, Inc. will post 7.63 EPS for the current year.

Delta Air Lines Increases Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have commented on DAL shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Delta Air Lines from $66.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, July 11th. BNP Paribas Exane raised their price target on Delta Air Lines from $58.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, July 11th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price target on Delta Air Lines from $53.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Wolfe Research raised their price target on Delta Air Lines from $56.00 to $63.00 in a report on Monday, July 14th. Finally, UBS Group set a $72.00 price target on Delta Air Lines in a report on Friday, July 11th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have given a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target 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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.