LPL Financial LLC Sells 36,975 Shares of Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL)

Key Points

• LPL Financial LLC reduced its stake in Delta Air Lines by 6.3%, now holding 547,310 shares valued at approximately $23.86 million.
• Delta Air Lines has increased its quarterly dividend from $0.15 to $0.1875, representing a 1.5% dividend yield for investors of record by July 31st.
• The company recently reported earnings of $2.10 per share, exceeding analyst estimates, with a quarterly revenue of $15.51 billion, slightly below expectations.

LPL Financial LLC lowered its position in Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL - Free Report) by 6.3% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 547,310 shares of the transportation company's stock after selling 36,975 shares during the quarter. LPL Financial LLC owned 0.08% of Delta Air Lines worth $23,863,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its stake in Delta Air Lines by 33.5% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 9,174 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $555,000 after purchasing an additional 2,302 shares during the last quarter. World Investment Advisors boosted its holdings in shares of Delta Air Lines by 68.7% during the 4th quarter. World Investment Advisors now owns 9,983 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $604,000 after buying an additional 4,065 shares in the last quarter. ExodusPoint Capital Management LP bought a new stake in Delta Air Lines during the 4th quarter valued at about $7,264,000. Thoroughbred Financial Services LLC bought a new position in shares of Delta Air Lines during the 4th quarter valued at $224,000. Finally, Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in Delta Air Lines during the fourth quarter valued at $3,275,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 69.93% of the company's stock.

Delta Air Lines Stock Performance

Shares of DAL traded up $1.30 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $54.17. 8,473,748 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 11,171,777. Delta Air Lines, Inc. has a 1-year low of $34.74 and a 1-year high of $69.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 0.33 and a current ratio of 0.38. The stock's fifty day moving average is $51.45 and its 200 day moving average is $51.77. The stock has a market cap of $35.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 1.56.

Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 10th. The transportation company reported $2.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.01 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $15,507,000 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.36 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate 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 disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 21st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 31st will be given a dividend of $0.1875 per share. This represents a $0.75 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.4%. This is a positive change 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 (DPR) is presently 10.87%.

Insider Activity at Delta Air Lines

In other news, CEO Edward H. Bastian sold 35,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated 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 owned 632,823 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $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 SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Peter W. Carter sold 17,550 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $57.19, for a total value of $1,003,684.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 191,442 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $10,948,567.98. This trade represents a 8.40% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 133,973 shares of company stock valued at $7,511,746. 0.88% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Wall Street Zen downgraded Delta Air Lines from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. UBS Group set a $72.00 target price on shares of Delta Air Lines in a research report on Friday, July 11th. Raymond James Financial raised their price target on shares of Delta Air Lines from $60.00 to $68.00 in a research note on Friday, July 11th. Susquehanna Bancshares raised 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 report on Friday, July 11th. Finally, Bernstein Bank increased their target price on shares of Delta Air Lines from $60.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, July 11th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, 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.