Korea Investment CORP Raises Stock Holdings in Delta Air Lines, Inc. $DAL

Key Points

• Korea Investment CORP has increased its stake in Delta Air Lines by 138.9%, acquiring an additional 114,608 shares in the first quarter, bringing their total holdings to $8,593,000.
• Delta Air Lines has announced a quarterly dividend increase to $0.1875 per share, up from $0.15, representing an annual yield of 1.2%.
• Several analysts have upgraded their target prices for Delta Air Lines shares, with the consensus rating being "Buy" and an average target price of $66.21.

Korea Investment CORP lifted its position in shares of Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL - Free Report) by 138.9% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 197,094 shares of the transportation company's stock after purchasing an additional 114,608 shares during the period. Korea Investment CORP's holdings in Delta Air Lines were worth $8,593,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of DAL. Brighton Jones LLC grew its position in shares of Delta Air Lines by 33.5% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 9,174 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $555,000 after acquiring an additional 2,302 shares during the period. Renaissance Technologies LLC purchased a new position in Delta Air Lines in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $2,353,000. MML Investors Services LLC grew its holdings in Delta Air Lines by 20.7% during the fourth quarter. MML Investors Services LLC now owns 86,197 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $5,215,000 after purchasing an additional 14,808 shares during the period. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Delta Air Lines by 6.8% during the fourth quarter. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 13,473 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $815,000 after purchasing an additional 863 shares during the period. Finally, Pinebridge Investments L.P. purchased a new stake in Delta Air Lines in the fourth quarter worth $5,402,000. Institutional investors own 69.93% of the company's stock.

Delta Air Lines Trading Down 2.0%

Shares of Delta Air Lines stock traded down $1.24 during trading on Monday, reaching $60.45. 6,191,745 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 7,366,686. The company has a quick ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 0.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74. The firm has a market cap of $39.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 1.56. Delta Air Lines, Inc. has a 1 year low of $34.74 and a 1 year high of $69.98. The stock's fifty day moving average is $53.69 and its 200 day moving average is $50.76.

Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 10th. The transportation company reported $2.10 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates 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 company had revenue of $15,507,000 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.16 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.36 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was down .1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Delta Air Lines, Inc. will post 7.63 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Delta Air Lines Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 21st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 31st were paid a dividend of $0.1875 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, July 31st. This represents a $0.75 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.2%. This is an increase from Delta Air Lines's previous quarterly dividend of $0.15. Delta Air Lines's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 10.87%.

Insider Activity at Delta Air Lines

In related news, EVP Peter W. Carter sold 17,550 shares of Delta Air Lines stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $57.19, for a total value of $1,003,684.50. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 191,442 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,948,567.98. This trade represents a 8.40% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Alain Bellemare sold 45,423 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 131,731 shares in the company, valued at $7,318,974.36. The trade was a 25.64% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 136,473 shares of company stock valued at $7,663,496 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.96% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

DAL has been the topic of several recent research reports. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on shares of Delta Air Lines from $56.00 to $62.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, July 14th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on shares of Delta Air Lines from $60.00 to $67.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, July 11th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Delta Air Lines from $88.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, July 11th. Raymond James Financial raised their price objective on shares of Delta Air Lines from $60.00 to $68.00 in a research report on Friday, July 11th. Finally, HSBC raised their price target on shares of Delta Air Lines from $64.00 to $69.20 in a report on Friday, July 11th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $66.21.

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.