Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV) Holdings Raised by Envestnet Asset Management Inc.

Envestnet Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV - Free Report) by 17.8% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 409,653 shares of the airline's stock after acquiring an additional 61,827 shares during the quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. owned approximately 0.07% of Southwest Airlines worth $13,756,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Sanctuary Wealth Management L.L.C. lifted its stake in Southwest Airlines by 196.3% in the 4th quarter. Sanctuary Wealth Management L.L.C. now owns 889 shares of the airline's stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 589 shares in the last quarter. Quent Capital LLC raised its position in Southwest Airlines by 78.6% in the first quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 1,472 shares of the airline's stock valued at $49,000 after purchasing an additional 648 shares during the last quarter. Millstone Evans Group LLC acquired a new stake in Southwest Airlines during the fourth quarter worth approximately $53,000. Optiver Holding B.V. grew its stake in Southwest Airlines by 370.3% in the fourth quarter. Optiver Holding B.V. now owns 1,919 shares of the airline's stock valued at $65,000 after acquiring an additional 1,511 shares during the period. Finally, MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB lifted its holdings in shares of Southwest Airlines by 22.1% in the first quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 2,161 shares of the airline's stock valued at $73,000 after purchasing an additional 391 shares in the last quarter. 80.82% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Southwest Airlines Trading Up 0.1%

Southwest Airlines stock traded up $0.05 during trading on Friday, hitting $36.52. The company had a trading volume of 8,189,377 shares, compared to its average volume of 10,308,156. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $33.13 and its 200-day simple moving average is $31.27. The stock has a market cap of $20.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.54 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a current ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44. Southwest Airlines Co. has a 1-year low of $23.58 and a 1-year high of $37.96.

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The airline reported ($0.13) earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.18) by $0.05. Southwest Airlines had a net margin of 1.98% and a return on equity of 7.27%. The business had revenue of $6.43 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.47 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned ($0.36) earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts expect that Southwest Airlines Co. will post 1.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Southwest Airlines Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 9th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, June 18th were issued a $0.18 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, June 18th. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.97%. Southwest Airlines's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 84.71%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have issued reports on LUV. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised Southwest Airlines from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $40.00 target price for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 29th. UBS Group upped their target price on Southwest Airlines from $27.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, July 7th. Citigroup lowered their price objective on Southwest Airlines from $30.00 to $23.00 and set a "sell" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Raymond James Financial reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $40.00 price target (down from $42.00) on shares of Southwest Airlines in a report on Tuesday, April 29th. Finally, Susquehanna decreased their target price on Southwest Airlines from $34.00 to $25.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 7th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Southwest Airlines has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $33.13.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Gregg A. Saretsky bought 3,670 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 30th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $27.29 per share, for a total transaction of $100,154.30. Following the completion of the purchase, the director directly owned 14,881 shares in the company, valued at approximately $406,102.49. The trade was a 32.74% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director David P. Hess bought 7,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, April 28th. The stock was bought at an average price of $26.52 per share, with a total value of $198,900.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director owned 23,156 shares of the company's stock, valued at $614,097.12. This trade represents a 47.90% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 0.79% of the company's stock.

Southwest Airlines Company Profile

Southwest Airlines Co operates as a passenger airline company that provides scheduled air transportation services in the United States and near-international markets. As of December 31, 2023, the company operated a total fleet of 817 Boeing 737 aircraft; and served 121 destinations in 42 states, the District of Columbia, and the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, as well as ten near-international countries, including Mexico, Jamaica, the Bahamas, Aruba, the Dominican Republic, Costa Rica, Belize, Cuba, the Cayman Islands, and Turks and Caicos.