Mackenzie Financial Corp Trims Stake in Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL)

Key Points

• Mackenzie Financial Corp decreased its holdings in Delta Air Lines by 30.1% in the first quarter, selling 96,049 shares, leaving them with a total of 223,339 shares valued at approximately $9.7 million.
• Analysts have varying outlooks on Delta Air Lines, with Citigroup increasing their price target to $65.50 while Bank of America lowered it to $56.00, resulting in a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy."
• Delta Air Lines announced a quarterly dividend increase to $0.1875 per share, effective August 21, boosting the annualized payout to $0.75 with a yield of 1.4%.

Mackenzie Financial Corp trimmed its stake in Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL - Free Report) by 30.1% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 223,339 shares of the transportation company's stock after selling 96,049 shares during the quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp's holdings in Delta Air Lines were worth $9,738,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Delta Air Lines by 414.4% in the 4th quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC now owns 535 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 431 shares during the last quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC boosted its position in shares of Delta Air Lines by 44.2% in the fourth quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 584 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 179 shares during the period. Hara Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Delta Air Lines in the first quarter worth $35,000. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. acquired a new stake in shares of Delta Air Lines in the fourth quarter worth $51,000. Finally, Fourth Dimension Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Delta Air Lines in the fourth quarter worth $54,000. 69.93% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other Delta Air Lines news, CEO Edward H. Bastian sold 35,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 directly owned 632,823 shares in the company, valued at $35,615,278.44. This represents a 5.24% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Alain Bellemare sold 45,423 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.56, for a total transaction of $2,523,701.88. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 131,731 shares in the company, valued at $7,318,974.36. This represents a 25.64% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 133,973 shares of company stock valued at $7,511,746. 0.96% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently issued reports on DAL shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Delta Air Lines from $66.00 to $72.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, July 11th. Sanford C. Bernstein reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Delta Air Lines in a research 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 report on Friday, July 11th. TD Cowen boosted their price target on Delta Air Lines from $55.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, July 14th. Finally, Raymond James Financial boosted their price target on Delta Air Lines from $60.00 to $68.00 in a research report on Friday, July 11th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $66.21.

Delta Air Lines Stock Up 0.0%

DAL stock traded up $0.01 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $52.53. The stock had a trading volume of 3,232,205 shares, compared to its average volume of 10,958,779. Delta Air Lines, Inc. has a one year low of $34.74 and a one year high of $69.98. The company's 50 day moving average is $51.38 and its two-hundred day moving average is $51.76. The company has a market capitalization of $34.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.61, a P/E/G ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 1.56. The company has a quick ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 0.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74.

Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 10th. The transportation company reported $2.10 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.01 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $15,507,000 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.16 billion. Delta Air Lines had a net margin of 7.24% and a return on equity of 24.86%. The company's revenue was down .1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.36 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Delta Air Lines, Inc. will post 7.63 EPS for the current year.

Delta Air Lines Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 21st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 31st will be paid a $0.1875 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 31st. This represents a $0.75 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.4%. This is a boost from Delta Air Lines's previous quarterly dividend of $0.15. Delta Air Lines's dividend payout ratio is currently 10.87%.

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.