iA Global Asset Management Inc. Increases Holdings in Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL)

Key Points

• iA Global Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in Delta Air Lines by 14.7%, purchasing an additional 8,262 shares, bringing its total holdings to 64,646 shares valued at approximately $2.8 million.
• Brokerage firms have raised their price targets for Delta Air Lines, with Jefferies setting a new target of $62.00 and UBS Group aiming at $72.00, indicating positive sentiment toward the stock.
• Delta Air Lines announced a quarterly dividend increase to $0.1875 per share, reflecting strong financial performance with a recent earnings report showing $2.10 EPS, surpassing analyst estimates.

iA Global Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL - Free Report) by 14.7% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 64,646 shares of the transportation company's stock after buying an additional 8,262 shares during the quarter. iA Global Asset Management Inc.'s holdings in Delta Air Lines were worth $2,819,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in DAL. ING Groep NV bought a new position in shares of Delta Air Lines during the 1st quarter worth approximately $2,504,000. Blair William & Co. IL raised its holdings in Delta Air Lines by 7.9% during the first quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 22,490 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $981,000 after buying an additional 1,640 shares during the last quarter. Heritage Trust Co raised its holdings in shares of Delta Air Lines by 7.2% in the 1st quarter. Heritage Trust Co now owns 24,864 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $1,084,000 after acquiring an additional 1,663 shares during the last quarter. Argent Trust Co raised its stake in shares of Delta Air Lines by 2.8% in the first quarter. Argent Trust Co now owns 33,918 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $1,479,000 after purchasing an additional 937 shares during the last quarter. Finally, R Squared Ltd lifted its stake in Delta Air Lines by 329.4% during the 1st quarter. R Squared Ltd now owns 5,840 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $255,000 after acquiring an additional 4,480 shares in the last quarter. 69.93% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Delta Air Lines Price Performance

NYSE DAL traded up $0.04 on Friday, reaching $53.67. 6,634,357 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 8,852,598. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a current ratio of 0.38 and a quick ratio of 0.33. Delta Air Lines, Inc. has a 12 month low of $34.74 and a 12 month high of $69.98. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $51.65 and a 200 day simple moving average of $51.70. The stock has a market cap of $35.04 billion, a PE ratio of 7.78, a P/E/G ratio of 1.67 and a beta of 1.56.

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 for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.01 by $0.09. Delta Air Lines had a return on equity of 24.86% and a net margin of 7.24%. The firm had revenue of $15,507,000 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.16 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.36 earnings per share. The business's revenue was down .1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts predict that Delta Air Lines, Inc. will post 7.63 earnings per share for the current year.

Delta Air Lines Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 21st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 31st will be issued a $0.1875 dividend. This is an increase from Delta Air Lines's previous quarterly dividend of $0.15. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 31st. This represents a $0.75 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.4%. Delta Air Lines's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 10.87%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Delta Air Lines from $88.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, July 11th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on Delta Air Lines from $60.00 to $67.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, July 11th. TD Cowen boosted their price target on shares of Delta Air Lines from $55.00 to $66.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, July 14th. Susquehanna set a $65.00 price objective on Delta Air Lines and gave the stock a "positive" rating in a report on Friday, July 11th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on shares of Delta Air Lines from $56.00 to $62.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, July 14th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Delta Air Lines currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $66.21.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Edward H. Bastian sold 35,000 shares of Delta Air Lines stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $56.28, for a total value of $1,969,800.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 632,823 shares in the company, valued at $35,615,278.44. The trade was a 5.24% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Steven M. Sear sold 18,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the executive vice president owned 97,505 shares in the company, valued at $5,456,379.80. This represents a 15.58% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 133,973 shares of company stock worth $7,511,746. Corporate insiders own 0.88% of the company's stock.

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.