MUFG Securities EMEA plc Grows Stake in Delta Air Lines, Inc. $DAL

Key Points

• MUFG Securities EMEA plc more than doubled its Delta Air Lines stake in the fourth quarter, increasing its holdings by 114.4% to 26,621 shares worth about $1.85 million.
• Delta continues to draw strong institutional interest, with hedge funds and other investors owning 69.93% of the stock; several firms, including Wellington Management and Norges Bank, also raised or initiated positions.
• Analysts remain broadly positive on Delta, with a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $80.85; the company also beat quarterly earnings estimates and announced a $0.1875 quarterly dividend.

MUFG Securities EMEA plc grew its position in Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL - Free Report) by 114.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 26,621 shares of the transportation company's stock after purchasing an additional 14,206 shares during the quarter. MUFG Securities EMEA plc's holdings in Delta Air Lines were worth $1,847,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Life Cycle Investment Partners Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Delta Air Lines during the fourth quarter valued at $471,532,000. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its holdings in shares of Delta Air Lines by 54.8% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 5,817,783 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $330,159,000 after buying an additional 2,058,744 shares during the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP grew its holdings in shares of Delta Air Lines by 16,044.7% during the third quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 1,263,320 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $71,693,000 after buying an additional 1,255,495 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Delta Air Lines during the fourth quarter valued at $86,931,000. Finally, Lansdowne Partners UK LLP grew its holdings in shares of Delta Air Lines by 47.0% during the third quarter. Lansdowne Partners UK LLP now owns 2,284,257 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $129,632,000 after buying an additional 730,368 shares during the last quarter. 69.93% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of Delta Air Lines from $77.00 to $79.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, April 9th. Evercore reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $85.00 price objective on shares of Delta Air Lines in a report on Friday, April 17th. HSBC dropped their price objective on shares of Delta Air Lines from $80.20 to $79.30 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 9th. 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 report on Tuesday, May 26th. Finally, Argus increased their price objective on shares of Delta Air Lines from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 9th. One research 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 company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $80.85.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Delta Air Lines news, EVP Allison C. Ausband sold 9,710 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $76.00, for a total value of $737,960.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 138,854 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,552,904. This represents a 6.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP John E. Laughter sold 69,304 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $68.15, for a total transaction of $4,723,067.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 69,369 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,727,497.35. This trade represents a 49.98% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 149,635 shares of company stock worth $10,833,855. Company insiders own 0.80% of the company's stock.

Delta Air Lines Price Performance

NYSE:DAL opened at $81.45 on Tuesday. Delta Air Lines, Inc. has a one year low of $45.28 and a one year high of $83.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a quick ratio of 0.36 and a current ratio of 0.42. The firm has a market cap of $53.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.87, a PEG ratio of 1.17 and a beta of 1.30. The firm's fifty day moving average is $70.48 and its two-hundred day moving average is $68.22.

Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 8th. The transportation company reported $0.64 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.61 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $14.20 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.05 billion. Delta Air Lines had a net margin of 6.87% and a return on equity of 20.28%. The firm's revenue was up 9.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.46 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Delta Air Lines, Inc. will post 5.37 EPS for the current year.

Delta Air Lines Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 4th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 14th will be given a $0.1875 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 14th. This represents a $0.75 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.9%. Delta Air Lines's dividend payout ratio is 10.93%.

Delta Air Lines Company Profile

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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