Geode Capital Management LLC Has $1.22 Billion Holdings in Delta Air Lines, Inc. $DAL

Key Points

• Geode Capital Management increased its Delta Air Lines stake by 1.2% in the fourth quarter, ending with 17.4 million shares valued at about $1.22 billion. Institutional investors overall own nearly 70% of Delta’s stock.
• Delta reported better-than-expected first-quarter earnings, posting EPS of $0.64 versus the $0.61 estimate and revenue of $14.20 billion, up 9.4% year over year. Analysts now expect the company to earn 5.26 EPS for the current fiscal year.
• The company also announced a quarterly dividend of $0.1875 per share, payable June 4, while analysts remain generally upbeat with a consensus Moderate Buy rating and several higher price targets, including TD Cowen’s move to $92.

Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL - Free Report) by 1.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 17,413,841 shares of the transportation company's stock after purchasing an additional 202,865 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC owned 2.67% of Delta Air Lines worth $1,215,766,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the business. AlphaQuest LLC boosted its stake in shares of Delta Air Lines by 90.6% in the 3rd quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 444 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 211 shares during the last quarter. Accredited Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Delta Air Lines by 1,983.3% in the 3rd quarter. Accredited Wealth Management LLC now owns 500 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 476 shares during the last quarter. Lloyd Advisory Services LLC. bought a new stake in shares of Delta Air Lines in the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. SWAN Capital LLC boosted its stake in shares of Delta Air Lines by 1,016.0% in the 3rd quarter. SWAN Capital LLC now owns 558 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 508 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Camelot Portfolios LLC bought a new stake in shares of Delta Air Lines in the 4th quarter valued at $34,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 69.93% of the company's stock.

Delta Air Lines Stock Up 0.0%

Delta Air Lines stock opened at $82.49 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 0.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54. Delta Air Lines, Inc. has a 12-month low of $45.28 and a 12-month high of $83.83. The firm's fifty day moving average is $70.15 and its 200 day moving average is $67.99. The company has a market capitalization of $54.20 billion, a PE ratio of 12.03, a PEG ratio of 1.19 and a beta of 1.25.

Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 8th. The transportation company reported $0.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.61 by $0.03. Delta Air Lines had a net margin of 6.87% and a return on equity of 20.28%. The company had revenue of $14.20 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.05 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.46 EPS. Delta Air Lines's quarterly revenue was up 9.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Delta Air Lines, Inc. will post 5.26 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Delta Air Lines Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 4th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 14th 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 0.9%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 14th. Delta Air Lines's payout ratio is presently 10.93%.

More Delta Air Lines News

Here are the key news stories impacting Delta Air Lines this week:

• Positive Sentiment: TD Cowen raised its price target on Delta Air Lines from $84 to $92 and reiterated a buy rating, reinforcing expectations for further upside in the shares. TD Cowen price target update
• Positive Sentiment: Airline stocks are benefiting from strong travel demand and a more favorable fuel-cost backdrop as oil prices have eased from recent highs, which can help Delta’s margins. Air travel demand and airfare article
• Positive Sentiment: Recent market coverage highlighted that Delta shares have been supported by analyst upgrades and higher price targets, reflecting improving confidence in the company’s earnings outlook. Delta stock is up article
• Neutral Sentiment: Delta’s CEO defended the carrier’s choice of Amazon’s in-flight Wi-Fi service over SpaceX Starlink, a strategic decision that may matter competitively but is not an immediate financial catalyst. Delta Wi-Fi strategy article
• Negative Sentiment: Two recent insider sales by Delta executives, including EVP Allison Ausband and EVP Alain Bellemare, may modestly pressure sentiment even though insider selling is not always a fundamental red flag. Ausband SEC filing Bellemare SEC filing

Insider Activity at Delta Air Lines

In related news, EVP Alain Bellemare sold 25,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $81.44, for a total transaction of $2,036,000.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 95,025 shares in the company, valued at $7,738,836. The trade was a 20.83% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP John E. Laughter sold 69,304 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, April 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.15, for a total transaction of $4,723,067.60. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 69,369 shares in the company, valued at $4,727,497.35. The trade was a 49.98% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 149,635 shares of company stock worth $10,833,855 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.80% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

DAL has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Argus upped their price objective on shares of Delta Air Lines from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 9th. Evercore reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $85.00 price objective on shares of Delta Air Lines in a research note on Friday, April 17th. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Delta Air Lines from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a research note on Friday, March 6th. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Delta Air Lines from $95.00 to $98.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Zacks Research raised shares of Delta Air Lines from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 15th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-three have issued a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Delta Air Lines presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $80.22.

About Delta Air Lines

Delta Air Lines is a major U.S.-based global airline that provides scheduled passenger and cargo air transportation, aircraft maintenance and repair services, and related travel products. Its operations include mainline domestic and international passenger services, a branded regional network operating under the Delta Connection name, dedicated air cargo carriage, and in-house maintenance, repair and overhaul through Delta TechOps. Delta offers a range of cabin products for different customer segments, including premium business-class service on long-haul routes and tiered economy offerings on domestic and international flights, and it markets customer loyalty benefits through the SkyMiles frequent-flyer program.

The carrier operates a mixed fleet of narrow- and wide-body aircraft from multiple U.S.

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