Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management Has $1.74 Million Position in Delta Air Lines, Inc. $DAL

Key Points

• Empirical Financial Services LLC increased its holdings in Delta Air Lines by 18.1% during the second quarter, bringing their total position to $1.74 million.
• Recent insider trades include Alain Bellemare and Steven M. Sear both selling significant amounts of shares, decreasing their respective ownership positions.
• Delta Air Lines announced a quarterly dividend of $0.1875 per share, with a dividend yield of 1.3%, set to be paid on November 6th.

Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management raised its holdings in Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL - Free Report) by 18.1% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 35,359 shares of the transportation company's stock after acquiring an additional 5,428 shares during the quarter. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management's holdings in Delta Air Lines were worth $1,739,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Signature Resources Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Delta Air Lines during the second quarter worth $25,000. Wealth Preservation Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Delta Air Lines in the 1st quarter valued at $31,000. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT acquired a new position in shares of Delta Air Lines during the 1st quarter worth about $33,000. Hara Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Delta Air Lines during the 1st quarter worth about $35,000. Finally, N.E.W. Advisory Services LLC bought a new stake in shares of Delta Air Lines during the 1st quarter worth about $40,000. 69.93% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Delta Air Lines

In related news, EVP Alain Bellemare sold 45,423 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.56, for a total value of $2,523,701.88. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 131,731 shares of the company's stock, valued at $7,318,974.36. This trade represents a 25.64% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Steven M. Sear sold 18,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.96, for a total transaction of $1,007,280.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 97,505 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,456,379.80. The trade was a 15.58% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 136,473 shares of company stock valued at $7,663,496. 0.88% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Delta Air Lines Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:DAL opened at $57.32 on Friday. Delta Air Lines, Inc. has a twelve month low of $34.74 and a twelve month high of $69.98. The stock has a market capitalization of $37.42 billion, a PE ratio of 8.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.53 and a beta of 1.50. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $58.23 and its 200-day moving average price is $51.21. 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 announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 10th. The transportation company reported $2.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 business had revenue of $15.51 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.16 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.36 EPS. The company's revenue was down .1% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that Delta Air Lines, Inc. will post 7.63 EPS for the current year.

Delta Air Lines Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, November 6th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 16th will be given a dividend of $0.1875 per share. This represents a $0.75 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 16th. Delta Air Lines's dividend payout ratio is presently 10.87%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have issued reports on DAL shares. Susquehanna boosted their price objective on shares of Delta Air Lines from $65.00 to $68.00 and gave the company a "positive" rating in a report on Friday. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on shares of Delta Air Lines from $60.00 to $67.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, July 11th. TD Cowen increased their target price on shares of Delta Air Lines from $55.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, July 14th. Jefferies Financial Group set a $70.00 price objective on shares of Delta Air Lines and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Wolfe Research increased their target price on shares of Delta Air Lines from $56.00 to $63.00 in a report on Monday, July 14th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and nineteen have given a Buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Delta Air Lines currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $67.84.

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.

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