Westwood Holdings Group Inc. Sells 596,729 Shares of Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL)

Key Points

• Westwood Holdings Group Inc. sold 596,729 shares of Delta Air Lines, reducing its holdings by 93.2% to 43,350 shares, valued at approximately $1.89 million.
• In contrast, Pacer Advisors Inc. significantly increased its stake by 5,224.6%, acquiring 4,255,262 additional shares, bringing its total to over 4.3 million shares valued at around $189 million.
• Delta Air Lines announced a quarterly dividend of $0.1875 per share, marking an increase from the previous dividend of $0.15 and representing an annualized yield of 1.4%.

Westwood Holdings Group Inc. lowered its stake in Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL - Free Report) by 93.2% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 43,350 shares of the transportation company's stock after selling 596,729 shares during the period. Westwood Holdings Group Inc.'s holdings in Delta Air Lines were worth $1,890,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of DAL. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC raised its position in shares of Delta Air Lines by 414.4% during the 4th quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC now owns 535 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 431 shares in the last quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC raised its position in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 179 shares in the last quarter. Hara Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Delta Air Lines during the 1st quarter worth about $35,000. N.E.W. Advisory Services LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Delta Air Lines during the 1st quarter worth about $40,000. Finally, Private Wealth Management Group LLC raised its position in shares of Delta Air Lines by 104.8% during the 1st quarter. Private Wealth Management Group LLC now owns 991 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $43,000 after acquiring an additional 507 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 69.93% of the company's stock.

Delta Air Lines Stock Up 0.1%

DAL traded up $0.04 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $53.67. The company had a trading volume of 6,634,357 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,852,598. Delta Air Lines, Inc. has a 52 week low of $34.74 and a 52 week high of $69.98. The company has a quick ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 0.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74. The company has a market capitalization of $35.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.78, a PEG ratio of 1.67 and a beta of 1.56. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $51.76 and its 200 day moving average price is $51.49.

Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL - Get Free Report) last posted 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 company had revenue of $15,507,000 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 quarterly revenue was down .1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.36 earnings per share. 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 business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 21st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 31st will be given a $0.1875 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 31st. This represents a $0.75 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.4%. This is a positive change from Delta Air Lines's previous quarterly dividend of $0.15. Delta Air Lines's dividend payout ratio is 10.87%.

Insider Activity at Delta Air Lines

In other Delta Air Lines news, EVP Peter W. Carter sold 17,550 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $57.19, for a total transaction 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 approximately $10,948,567.98. This trade represents a 8.40% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Alain Bellemare sold 45,423 shares of the firm'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 transaction of $2,523,701.88. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 131,731 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,318,974.36. The trade was a 25.64% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 133,973 shares of company stock valued at $7,511,746. 0.88% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on DAL. Susquehanna Bancshares raised their target price on Delta Air Lines from $51.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a "positive" rating in a research 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 research note on Tuesday, July 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Delta Air Lines from $66.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, July 11th. UBS Group set a $72.00 price target on Delta Air Lines in a research note on Friday, July 11th. Finally, Barclays raised their price target on Delta Air Lines from $58.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, July 11th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate 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.