Ninety One UK Ltd Trims Holdings in Delta Air Lines, Inc. $DAL

Key Points

• Ninety One UK Ltd trimmed its stake in Delta Air Lines by 9.2% in Q4, selling 356,049 shares and ending the quarter with 3,504,661 shares (about 0.54% of the company) valued at roughly $243.2 million.
• Company insiders have been net sellers recently — a total of 353,611 shares worth about $25.18 million were sold in the last 90 days, including CEO Edward Bastian (100,000 shares) and EVP John Laughter (15,000 shares), leaving insiders with about 0.88% ownership.
• Delta beat Q1 estimates (EPS $0.64 vs $0.61; revenue $14.20B vs $14.05B) and several brokers raised price targets (e.g., TD Cowen to $84, Barclays to $85), leaving a MarketBeat consensus of "Moderate Buy" with a $79.26 target.

Ninety One UK Ltd cut its stake in Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL - Free Report) by 9.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 3,504,661 shares of the transportation company's stock after selling 356,049 shares during the quarter. Ninety One UK Ltd owned about 0.54% of Delta Air Lines worth $243,223,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in DAL. AlphaQuest LLC grew its position in Delta Air Lines by 90.6% during the third quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 444 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 211 shares in the last quarter. Accredited Wealth Management LLC grew its position in Delta Air Lines by 1,983.3% during the third quarter. Accredited Wealth Management LLC now owns 500 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 476 shares in the last quarter. SWAN Capital LLC grew its position in Delta Air Lines by 1,016.0% during the third quarter. SWAN Capital LLC now owns 558 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 508 shares in the last quarter. Byrne Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in Delta Air Lines during the fourth quarter worth about $35,000. Finally, Measured Wealth Private Client Group LLC purchased a new position in Delta Air Lines during the third quarter worth about $35,000. 69.93% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP John E. Laughter sold 15,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.61, for a total value of $1,074,150.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 54,369 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,893,364.09. The trade was a 21.62% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Edward H. Bastian sold 100,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.26, for a total value of $7,026,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 1,363,448 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $95,795,856.48. This trade represents a 6.83% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 353,611 shares of company stock worth $25,182,798 in the last 90 days. 0.88% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Delta Air Lines Price Performance

DAL opened at $71.73 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $66.53 and a 200-day moving average price of $65.26. Delta Air Lines, Inc. has a 12-month low of $38.80 and a 12-month high of $76.39. The company has a current ratio of 0.42, a quick ratio of 0.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54. The stock has a market capitalization of $47.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.46, a PEG ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 1.31.

Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 8th. The transportation company reported $0.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.61 by $0.03. Delta Air Lines had a return on equity of 20.28% and a net margin of 6.87%.The firm had revenue of $14.20 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $14.05 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.46 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 9.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that Delta Air Lines, Inc. will post 7.63 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Delta Air Lines Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 19th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 26th were paid a $0.1875 dividend. This represents a $0.75 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 26th. Delta Air Lines's payout ratio is 10.93%.

Key Headlines Impacting Delta Air Lines

Here are the key news stories impacting Delta Air Lines this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Fuel relief from Strait of Hormuz comments — Iran said the Strait of Hormuz will remain open, triggering a steep drop in crude (WTI and Brent) and easing near‑term jet‑fuel cost pressure for airlines, which lifted Delta shares. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst upgrades and higher targets after Q1 — Several brokers have raised price targets and maintained buy ratings following Delta’s better‑than‑expected Q1 results and favorable commentary on premium and loyalty revenue, supporting upside sentiment. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Zacks moves rating to Hold — Zacks upgraded DAL from "strong sell" to "hold," which is mild support but not a strong buy signal. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Industry M&A chatter — Ongoing discussion about consolidation among U.S. carriers (United/American rumors) can rotate investor flows across names; Delta may benefit as a standalone leader but the direct impact is indirect. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Insider selling disclosed — EVP John Laughter sold ~15,000 shares (SEC filing), which can spook some investors even if sales are for diversification or liquidity. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Sector risk from Spirit distress — Reports of rising bankruptcy/liquidation risk at Spirit Airlines are weighing on sector sentiment and could create volatility for peers, including Delta. Read More.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

DAL has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. TD Cowen boosted their target price on Delta Air Lines from $76.00 to $84.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 9th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on Delta Air Lines from $78.00 to $81.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, April 13th. Seaport Research Partners boosted their target price on Delta Air Lines from $81.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 9th. HSBC reduced their target price on Delta Air Lines from $80.20 to $79.30 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 9th. Finally, Barclays boosted their target price on Delta Air Lines from $65.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, January 12th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-three have assigned a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $79.26.

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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