Federated Hermes Inc. Reduces Position in Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL)

Key Points

• Federated Hermes Inc. reduced its stake in Delta Air Lines by 8.3%, selling 41,420 shares and retaining 456,856 shares worth approximately $19.9 million.
• Delta Air Lines announced an increase in its quarterly dividend from $0.15 to $0.1875 per share, representing a 1.4% yield.
• Several institutional investors have recently adjusted their positions in Delta Air Lines, including Brighton Jones LLC, which increased its stake by 33.5% in the fourth quarter.

Federated Hermes Inc. lowered its holdings in shares of Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL - Free Report) by 8.3% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 456,856 shares of the transportation company's stock after selling 41,420 shares during the period. Federated Hermes Inc. owned about 0.07% of Delta Air Lines worth $19,919,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of DAL. Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its stake in shares of Delta Air Lines by 5,224.6% in the first quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 4,336,709 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $189,081,000 after purchasing an additional 4,255,262 shares during the last quarter. Ninety One UK Ltd grew its holdings in shares of Delta Air Lines by 1,469.9% in the first quarter. Ninety One UK Ltd now owns 3,309,020 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $144,273,000 after acquiring an additional 3,098,237 shares in the last quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. grew its holdings in Delta Air Lines by 405.3% during the fourth quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. now owns 3,054,285 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $184,784,000 after purchasing an additional 2,449,874 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its holdings in Delta Air Lines by 66.9% during the first 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 purchasing an additional 2,370,795 shares during the period. Finally, FMR LLC grew its holdings in Delta Air Lines by 29.3% during the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 9,955,818 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $602,327,000 after purchasing an additional 2,254,560 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 69.93% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

DAL has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. HSBC raised their price target on Delta Air Lines from $64.00 to $69.20 in a report on Friday, July 11th. Susquehanna set a $65.00 price objective on Delta Air Lines and gave the company a "positive" rating in a research note on Friday, July 11th. BNP Paribas Exane lifted their price objective on Delta Air Lines from $58.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, July 11th. UBS Group set a $72.00 price objective on Delta Air Lines in a research report on Friday, July 11th. Finally, TD Cowen lifted their target price on shares of Delta Air Lines from $55.00 to $66.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, July 14th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $66.21.

Insider Activity at Delta Air Lines

In related news, EVP Steven M. Sear sold 18,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.96, for a total value of $1,007,280.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 97,505 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,456,379.80. This represents a 15.58% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Peter W. Carter sold 17,550 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the executive vice president owned 191,442 shares of the company's stock, valued at $10,948,567.98. This represents a 8.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 133,973 shares of company stock valued at $7,511,746. 0.88% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Delta Air Lines Price Performance

Delta Air Lines stock traded down $2.06 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $51.15. The stock had a trading volume of 9,532,750 shares, compared to its average volume of 11,176,950. The firm has a market capitalization of $33.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.41, a P/E/G ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 1.56. Delta Air Lines, Inc. has a one year low of $34.74 and a one year high of $69.98. The company has a current ratio of 0.38, a quick ratio of 0.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74. The firm's 50 day moving average is $51.29 and its 200 day moving average is $51.95.

Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL - Get Free Report) last announced its 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 firm had revenue of $15,507,000 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $16.16 billion. Delta Air Lines had a net margin of 7.24% and a return on equity of 24.86%. The business's revenue was down .1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.36 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast 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 dividend of $0.1875 per share. This represents a $0.75 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.5%. This is a boost from Delta Air Lines's previous quarterly dividend of $0.15. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 31st. Delta Air Lines's dividend payout ratio is 10.87%.

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.