Northern Trust Corp Sells 80,236 Shares of Delta Air Lines, Inc. $DAL

Key Points

• Northern Trust Corp reduced its stake in Delta Air Lines by 1.5%, selling 80,236 shares to hold approximately 5.1 million shares valued at $222.47 million.
• Delta Air Lines recently reported a quarterly earnings per share (EPS) of $2.10, exceeding analyst estimates by $0.09, despite a revenue decline of 0.1% year-over-year.
• The company announced an increase in its quarterly dividend to $0.1875 per share, reflecting a yield of 1.3% and a payout ratio of 10.87%.

Northern Trust Corp decreased its position in shares of Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL - Free Report) by 1.5% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 5,102,553 shares of the transportation company's stock after selling 80,236 shares during the quarter. Northern Trust Corp owned about 0.78% of Delta Air Lines worth $222,471,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in Delta Air Lines by 0.7% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 72,924,506 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $3,179,508,000 after acquiring an additional 514,264 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. boosted its stake in Delta Air Lines by 30.2% during the 1st quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 7,242,852 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $315,788,000 after acquiring an additional 1,681,464 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its stake in Delta Air Lines by 66.9% during the 1st quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 5,915,545 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $257,918,000 after acquiring an additional 2,370,795 shares during the last quarter. Castle Hook Partners LP boosted its stake in Delta Air Lines by 27.4% during the 4th quarter. Castle Hook Partners LP now owns 4,746,535 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $287,165,000 after acquiring an additional 1,019,498 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in Delta Air Lines by 5,224.6% in the first quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 4,336,709 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $189,081,000 after buying an additional 4,255,262 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 69.93% of the company's stock.

Delta Air Lines Price Performance

NYSE DAL opened at $57.8140 on Friday. 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, Inc. has a 12-month low of $34.74 and a 12-month high of $69.98. The company has a market capitalization of $37.75 billion, a PE ratio of 8.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.84 and a beta of 1.56. The firm's 50 day moving average is $53.39 and its 200-day moving average is $51.05.

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

Delta Air Lines Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 21st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 31st were issued a $0.1875 dividend. This represents a $0.75 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.3%. This is a boost from Delta Air Lines's previous quarterly dividend of $0.15. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, July 31st. Delta Air Lines's dividend payout ratio is 10.87%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Peter W. Carter sold 17,550 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $57.19, for a total transaction of $1,003,684.50. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 191,442 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,948,567.98. The trade was a 8.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Edward H. Bastian sold 35,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $56.28, for a total transaction 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 trade represents a 5.24% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 136,473 shares of company stock valued at $7,663,496 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.88% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have weighed in on DAL. BNP Paribas Exane lifted their price target on shares of Delta Air Lines from $58.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, July 11th. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Delta Air Lines from $58.00 to $65.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, July 11th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on shares of Delta Air Lines from $56.00 to $62.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, July 14th. Wolfe Research lifted their price target on shares of Delta Air Lines from $56.00 to $63.00 in a research note on Monday, July 14th. Finally, Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Delta Air Lines from $62.00 to $65.50 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, July 11th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have given a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $66.21.

Delta Air Lines Company 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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