Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL) Shares Sold by Easterly Investment Partners LLC

Easterly Investment Partners LLC cut its stake in Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL - Free Report) by 27.9% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 25,762 shares of the transportation company's stock after selling 9,970 shares during the period. Easterly Investment Partners LLC's holdings in Delta Air Lines were worth $1,123,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Delta Air Lines by 414.4% during the fourth quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC now owns 535 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 431 shares in the last quarter. Graney & King LLC bought a new stake in shares of Delta Air Lines in the fourth quarter worth $34,000. Continuum Advisory LLC increased its stake in shares of Delta Air Lines by 44.2% in the fourth quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 584 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 179 shares during the last quarter. Hara Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Delta Air Lines in the first quarter worth $35,000. Finally, Private Wealth Management Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Delta Air Lines by 104.8% in the first quarter. Private Wealth Management Group LLC now owns 991 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $43,000 after buying an additional 507 shares during the last quarter. 69.93% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Steven M. Sear sold 18,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.96, for a total value of $1,007,280.00. Following the completion of the sale, 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 document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Alain Bellemare sold 45,423 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the executive vice president directly owned 131,731 shares of the company's stock, valued at $7,318,974.36. The trade was a 25.64% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 98,973 shares of company stock valued at $5,541,946 over the last 90 days. 0.88% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Delta Air Lines Stock Performance

Shares of DAL traded down $0.03 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $56.31. 8,975,576 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 9,908,014. Delta Air Lines, Inc. has a 1-year low of $34.74 and a 1-year high of $69.98. The firm has a market capitalization of $36.77 billion, a PE ratio of 8.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.75 and a beta of 1.49. 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 business's 50 day moving average price is $50.26 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $52.59.

Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL - Get Free Report) last announced 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.36 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Delta Air Lines, Inc. will post 7.63 EPS 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. Investors of record on Thursday, July 31st will be issued a $0.1875 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 31st. This represents a $0.75 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.33%. This is an increase from Delta Air Lines's previous quarterly dividend of $0.15. Delta Air Lines's dividend payout ratio is presently 8.70%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently issued reports on DAL shares. Bernstein Bank lifted their price target 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. Dbs Bank lowered shares of Delta Air Lines from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 3rd. BNP Paribas Exane lifted their price target on shares of Delta Air Lines from $58.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, July 11th. UBS Group set a $72.00 target price on shares of Delta Air Lines in a research note on Friday, July 11th. Finally, Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Delta Air Lines from $62.00 to $65.50 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, July 11th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Delta Air Lines currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $66.21.

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.