4,787 Shares in Delta Air Lines, Inc. $DAL Purchased by DRW Securities LLC

Key Points

• DRW Securities LLC has invested approximately $209,000 in Delta Air Lines, acquiring 4,787 shares of the company’s stock during the first quarter.
• Delta Air Lines recently announced a quarterly dividend increase, raising it from $0.15 to $0.1875 per share, with an annualized yield of 1.2%.
• Analysts have raised their target prices for Delta Air Lines, with HSBC increasing its target from $64.00 to $69.20, reflecting positive sentiment towards the stock.

DRW Securities LLC bought a new position in shares of Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 4,787 shares of the transportation company's stock, valued at approximately $209,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of DAL. Pacer Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in Delta Air Lines by 5,224.6% during the 1st quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 4,336,709 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $189,081,000 after acquiring an additional 4,255,262 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Delta Air Lines by 347.4% in the 1st quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 4,232,974 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $184,909,000 after buying an additional 3,286,741 shares during the period. Ninety One UK Ltd grew its holdings in shares of Delta Air Lines by 1,469.9% in the 1st quarter. Ninety One UK Ltd now owns 3,309,020 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $144,273,000 after buying an additional 3,098,237 shares during the period. Nuveen LLC acquired a new position in shares of Delta Air Lines in the 1st quarter valued at $122,849,000. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its holdings in shares of Delta Air Lines by 66.9% in the 1st quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 5,915,545 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $257,918,000 after buying an additional 2,370,795 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 69.93% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Edward H. Bastian sold 35,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $56.28, for a total transaction of $1,969,800.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 632,823 shares in the company, valued at approximately $35,615,278.44. This represents a 5.24% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Michael P. Huerta sold 2,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.70, for a total transaction of $151,750.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 33,245 shares in the company, valued at $2,017,971.50. This represents a 6.99% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 136,473 shares of company stock valued at $7,663,496 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.88% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on DAL shares. UBS Group set a $72.00 target price on shares of Delta Air Lines in a research note on Friday, July 11th. Raymond James Financial boosted their price target on shares of Delta Air Lines from $60.00 to $68.00 in a research report on Friday, July 11th. Citigroup upped their target price on shares of Delta Air Lines from $62.00 to $65.50 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, July 11th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Delta Air Lines from $88.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, July 11th. Finally, Susquehanna set a $65.00 price target on shares of Delta Air Lines and gave the company a "positive" rating in a report on Friday, July 11th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Delta Air Lines currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $66.21.

Delta Air Lines Price Performance

NYSE:DAL traded up $0.57 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $61.12. The stock had a trading volume of 6,394,954 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,651,979. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $56.26 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $50.56. The stock has a market capitalization of $39.91 billion, a PE ratio of 8.86, a P/E/G ratio of 1.91 and a beta of 1.51. 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, Inc. has a 12 month low of $34.74 and a 12 month high of $69.98.

Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 10th. The transportation company reported $2.10 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.01 by $0.09. Delta Air Lines had a net margin of 7.24% and a return on equity of 24.86%. The firm had revenue of $15.51 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $16.16 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.36 earnings per share. The company's revenue was down .1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Delta Air Lines, Inc. will post 7.63 earnings per share for the current year.

Delta Air Lines Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 21st. Investors of record on Thursday, July 31st were issued a $0.1875 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, July 31st. This is a positive change from Delta Air Lines's previous quarterly dividend of $0.15. This represents a $0.75 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.2%. Delta Air Lines's dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.