Natixis Advisors LLC Cuts Stock Holdings in Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL)

Key Points

• Natixis Advisors LLC reduced its stake in Delta Air Lines by 10.7%, selling 18,913 shares, resulting in holdings valued at approximately $6.87 million.
• Despite this reduction, institutional investors represent 69.93% of Delta Air Lines' ownership, with several firms increasing their stakes significantly, indicating robust institutional interest.
• Delta Air Lines announced an increase in its quarterly dividend to $0.1875 per share, representing a 1.4% yield, reflecting positive financial health even amidst share price fluctuations.

Natixis Advisors LLC trimmed its position in Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL - Free Report) by 10.7% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 157,647 shares of the transportation company's stock after selling 18,913 shares during the period. Natixis Advisors LLC's holdings in Delta Air Lines were worth $6,873,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Brighton Jones LLC raised its holdings in shares of 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 lifted its position in Delta Air Lines by 68.7% during the 4th quarter. World Investment Advisors now owns 9,983 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $604,000 after buying an additional 4,065 shares in the last quarter. Thoroughbred Financial Services LLC bought a new stake in Delta Air Lines during the fourth quarter worth about $224,000. Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in Delta Air Lines during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $3,275,000. Finally, Perennial Investment Advisors LLC bought a new position in Delta Air Lines in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $207,000. 69.93% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on DAL shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Delta Air Lines from $66.00 to $72.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, July 11th. Susquehanna Bancshares lifted their price target on Delta Air Lines from $51.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a "positive" rating in a research note on Friday, July 11th. Bernstein Bank upped their price objective on shares of Delta Air Lines from $60.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, July 11th. TD Cowen upped their price target on shares of Delta Air Lines from $55.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, July 14th. Finally, Wolfe Research lifted their target price on shares of Delta Air Lines from $56.00 to $63.00 in a research report on Monday, July 14th. 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 company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $66.21.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Steven M. Sear sold 18,000 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 of the company's stock, valued at $5,456,379.80. This represents a 15.58% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Edward H. Bastian sold 35,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $56.28, for a total value of $1,969,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 133,973 shares of company stock valued at $7,511,746 over the last quarter. 0.88% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Delta Air Lines Stock Up 0.8%

DAL traded up $0.42 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $54.05. The company had a trading volume of 3,846,599 shares, compared to its average volume of 10,872,233. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $51.65 and its 200 day moving average price is $51.70. Delta Air Lines, Inc. has a 52 week low of $34.74 and a 52 week high of $69.98. The company has a market capitalization of $35.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.84, a PEG ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 1.56. The company has a quick ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 0.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74.

Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 10th. The transportation company reported $2.10 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.01 by $0.09. Delta Air Lines had a return on equity of 24.86% and a net margin of 7.24%. The business had revenue of $15,507,000 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.16 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.36 EPS. The firm's revenue was down .1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, 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 company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 21st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 31st will be issued a dividend of $0.1875 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 31st. 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. Delta Air Lines's payout ratio is presently 10.87%.

Delta Air Lines 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.