MBB Public Markets I LLC Buys Shares of 6,725 Delta Air Lines, Inc. $DAL

Key Points

• MBB Public Markets I LLC has acquired 6,725 shares of Delta Air Lines, valued at approximately $293,000, according to a recent 13F filing with the SEC.
• Several Wall Street analysts have revised their target prices for Delta Air Lines, with most increasing their ratings; for instance, JPMorgan Chase and Barclays raised their targets to $72.00 and $65.00, respectively.
• Delta Air Lines announced an increase in its quarterly dividend to $0.1875 per share, reflecting a positive adjustment from the previous dividend of $0.15.

MBB Public Markets I LLC purchased a new stake in Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 6,725 shares of the transportation company's stock, valued at approximately $293,000.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of DAL. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Delta Air Lines by 33.5% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 9,174 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $555,000 after purchasing an additional 2,302 shares in the last quarter. Ethic Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Delta Air Lines in the fourth quarter valued at about $474,000. Focus Partners Wealth lifted its holdings in shares of Delta Air Lines by 84.2% in the fourth quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 35,878 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $2,277,000 after purchasing an additional 16,404 shares in the last quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Delta Air Lines by 14.9% in the fourth quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 8,087 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $489,000 after purchasing an additional 1,050 shares in the last quarter. Finally, OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Delta Air Lines by 20.1% in the fourth quarter. OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp now owns 6,690 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $405,000 after purchasing an additional 1,119 shares in the last quarter. 69.93% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently issued reports on DAL shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Delta Air Lines from $66.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, July 11th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on Delta Air Lines from $56.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, July 14th. Raymond James Financial upped their target price on Delta Air Lines from $60.00 to $68.00 in a report on Friday, July 11th. Barclays upped their target price on Delta Air Lines from $58.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, July 11th. Finally, HSBC boosted their price target on Delta Air Lines from $64.00 to $69.20 in a research report on Friday, July 11th. Two investment 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. According to MarketBeat.com, Delta Air Lines has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $66.21.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Alain Bellemare sold 45,423 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.56, for a total value of $2,523,701.88. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 131,731 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,318,974.36. This represents a 25.64% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Steven M. Sear sold 18,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.96, for a total value of $1,007,280.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 97,505 shares in the company, valued at $5,456,379.80. The trade was a 15.58% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 136,473 shares of company stock valued at $7,663,496 in the last ninety days. 0.88% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Delta Air Lines Price Performance

Shares of NYSE DAL opened at $60.49 on Friday. Delta Air Lines, Inc. has a twelve month low of $34.74 and a twelve month high of $69.98. The business's 50 day moving average price is $57.17 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $50.62. 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 company has a market cap of $39.50 billion, a PE ratio of 8.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 1.51.

Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 10th. The transportation company reported $2.10 EPS 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 company had revenue of $15.51 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.16 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.36 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down .1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts predict 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 was paid on Thursday, August 21st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 31st were given a $0.1875 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, July 31st. This is a positive change from Delta Air Lines's previous quarterly dividend of $0.15. This represents a $0.75 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.2%. Delta Air Lines's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 10.87%.

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.

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