Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank Increases Position in Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL)

Key Points

• Zurcher Kantonalbank increased its holdings in Delta Air Lines by 55.4% in Q1, now owning 51,318 shares valued at approximately $2.24 million.
• Delta Air Lines CEO Edward H. Bastian sold 35,000 shares, reducing his ownership by 5.24%, while insider trades totaled 133,973 shares sold over the past three months.
• The company's recent dividend increase to $0.1875 per share, from $0.15, indicates a healthy payout ratio of 10.87% amidst overall stock price fluctuations.

Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank raised its holdings in Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL - Free Report) by 55.4% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 51,318 shares of the transportation company's stock after acquiring an additional 18,297 shares during the period. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank's holdings in Delta Air Lines were worth $2,237,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Empirical Finance LLC raised its holdings in Delta Air Lines by 1.8% in the 1st quarter. Empirical Finance LLC now owns 33,817 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $1,474,000 after acquiring an additional 610 shares during the last quarter. TD Asset Management Inc grew its stake in shares of Delta Air Lines by 8.1% in the 1st quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 547,991 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $23,892,000 after buying an additional 41,204 shares during the period. HB Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Delta Air Lines by 6.5% in the 1st quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC now owns 147,099 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $6,414,000 after buying an additional 8,966 shares during the period. Zweig DiMenna Associates LLC grew its stake in shares of Delta Air Lines by 4.7% in the 1st quarter. Zweig DiMenna Associates LLC now owns 281,310 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $12,265,000 after buying an additional 12,500 shares during the period. Finally, Stevens Capital Management LP purchased a new stake in shares of Delta Air Lines in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $2,304,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 69.93% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Delta Air Lines

In related news, CEO Edward H. Bastian sold 35,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $56.28, for a total value of $1,969,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 632,823 shares of the company's stock, valued at $35,615,278.44. The trade was a 5.24% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Steven M. Sear sold 18,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.96, for a total transaction of $1,007,280.00. Following the completion of the sale, 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 133,973 shares of company stock valued at $7,511,746 in the last ninety days. 0.96% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Delta Air Lines Stock Up 2.8%

Shares of Delta Air Lines stock traded up $1.41 during trading on Monday, hitting $52.56. 7,474,051 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 11,653,705. The stock has a market cap of $34.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 1.56. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $51.29 and its 200 day moving average price is $51.85. Delta Air Lines, Inc. has a 12-month low of $34.74 and a 12-month 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.

Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 10th. The transportation company reported $2.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.01 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $15,507,000 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations 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 in the previous year, the company earned $2.36 EPS. As a group, 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 business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 21st. Investors of record on Thursday, July 31st will be given a $0.1875 dividend. This represents a $0.75 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.4%. This is a boost from Delta Air Lines's previous quarterly dividend of $0.15. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 31st. Delta Air Lines's dividend payout ratio is presently 10.87%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently weighed in on DAL. UBS Group set a $72.00 price target on shares of Delta Air Lines in a research note on Friday, July 11th. Raymond James Financial increased their price target on shares of Delta Air Lines from $60.00 to $68.00 in a research note on Friday, July 11th. Wolfe Research increased their price target on shares of Delta Air Lines from $56.00 to $63.00 in a research note on Monday, July 14th. Susquehanna Bancshares increased their price target on shares of Delta Air Lines from $51.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a "positive" rating in a research note on Friday, July 11th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut shares of Delta Air Lines from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price 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.