Newport Trust Company LLC Sells 625,579 Shares of Delta Air Lines, Inc. $DAL

Key Points

• Newport Trust Company LLC reduced its holdings in Delta Air Lines by 6.4%, selling 625,579 shares, which now accounts for 1.0% of its portfolio.
• Delta Air Lines increased its quarterly dividend to $0.1875, up from the previous $0.15, marking a positive change in shareholder returns.
• Wall Street analysts have raised their price targets for Delta Air Lines, with Barclays setting it at $65.00 and Goldman Sachs at $67.00, indicating a bullish outlook for the stock.

Newport Trust Company LLC lessened its holdings in shares of Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL - Free Report) by 6.4% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 9,216,343 shares of the transportation company's stock after selling 625,579 shares during the quarter. Delta Air Lines makes up 1.0% of Newport Trust Company LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 18th biggest position. Newport Trust Company LLC owned 1.41% of Delta Air Lines worth $401,833,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in DAL. Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its stake in Delta Air Lines by 347.4% in the first quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 4,232,974 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $184,909,000 after purchasing an additional 3,286,741 shares during the period. Norinchukin Bank The grew its stake in Delta Air Lines by 11.6% in the first quarter. Norinchukin Bank The now owns 26,530 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $1,157,000 after purchasing an additional 2,747 shares during the period. CW Advisors LLC grew its stake in Delta Air Lines by 1.0% in the first quarter. CW Advisors LLC now owns 109,637 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $4,793,000 after purchasing an additional 1,086 shares during the period. Summit Financial LLC grew its stake in Delta Air Lines by 3.2% in the first quarter. Summit Financial LLC now owns 20,250 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $883,000 after purchasing an additional 622 shares during the period. Finally, GM Advisory Group LLC purchased a new stake in Delta Air Lines in the first quarter worth $2,328,000. Institutional investors own 69.93% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Delta Air Lines news, Director Michael P. Huerta sold 2,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.70, for a total value of $151,750.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 33,245 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,017,971.50. This trade represents a 6.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Edward H. Bastian sold 35,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $56.28, for a total value of $1,969,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 136,473 shares of company stock valued at $7,663,496. 0.88% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Delta Air Lines Trading Down 2.1%

Shares of NYSE:DAL opened at $57.8140 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $37.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.38, a PEG ratio of 1.84 and a beta of 1.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 0.33 and a current ratio of 0.38. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $53.39 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $51.05. Delta Air Lines, Inc. has a 52-week low of $34.74 and a 52-week high of $69.98.

Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 10th. The transportation company reported $2.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.01 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $15,507,000 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $16.16 billion. Delta Air Lines had a return on equity of 24.86% and a net margin of 7.24%.The business's revenue for the quarter was down .1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.36 earnings per share. Analysts expect 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. Shareholders 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 yield of 1.3%. Delta Air Lines's payout ratio is 10.87%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

DAL has been the topic of several recent research reports. Barclays upped their price target on Delta Air Lines from $58.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, July 11th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on Delta Air Lines from $60.00 to $67.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, July 11th. TD Cowen increased their price objective on Delta Air Lines from $55.00 to $66.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, July 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased 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. Finally, Susquehanna Bancshares increased their price objective on Delta Air Lines from $51.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a "positive" rating in a research report on Friday, July 11th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus 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.

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