2,817,638 Shares in Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL) Purchased by Nuveen LLC

Key Points

• Nuveen LLC invested approximately $122.85 million in Delta Air Lines, acquiring 2,817,638 shares in the first quarter.
• Several institutional investors, including Vanguard Group and Bank of New York Mellon Corp, have also increased their stakes in Delta Air Lines, indicating strong institutional interest.
• Delta Air Lines has announced a quarterly dividend increase, raising the payout from $0.15 to $0.1875 per share, reflecting a commitment to returning value to shareholders.

Nuveen LLC bought a new stake in shares of Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund bought 2,817,638 shares of the transportation company's stock, valued at approximately $122,849,000. Nuveen LLC owned approximately 0.43% of Delta Air Lines at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Delta Air Lines by 414.4% during the fourth quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC now owns 535 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 431 shares during the last quarter. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT bought a new position in shares of Delta Air Lines in the first quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Continuum Advisory LLC boosted its holdings in Delta Air Lines by 44.2% during the fourth quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 584 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 179 shares in the last quarter. Hara Capital LLC bought a new stake in Delta Air Lines during the first quarter worth approximately $35,000. Finally, N.E.W. Advisory Services LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Delta Air Lines in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 69.93% of the company's stock.

Delta Air Lines Stock Performance

Shares of DAL traded up $1.31 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $60.27. The company had a trading volume of 9,821,226 shares, compared to its average volume of 10,822,699. The firm has a market cap of $39.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.73, a PEG ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 1.56. The business has a fifty day moving average of $52.46 and a 200-day moving average of $51.33. Delta Air Lines, Inc. has a 12 month low of $34.74 and a 12 month high of $69.98. 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 (NYSE:DAL - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 10th. The transportation company reported $2.10 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 analyst estimates of $16.16 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.36 earnings per share. The company's revenue was down .1% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts anticipate that Delta Air Lines, Inc. will post 7.63 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Delta Air Lines Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 21st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 31st will be paid a $0.1875 dividend. This represents a $0.75 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 31st. This is an increase from Delta Air Lines's previous quarterly dividend of $0.15. Delta Air Lines's dividend payout ratio is 10.87%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently commented on DAL shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Delta Air Lines from $66.00 to $72.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, July 11th. BNP Paribas Exane raised their price target on shares of Delta Air Lines from $58.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, July 11th. Wolfe Research lifted their target price on shares of Delta Air Lines from $56.00 to $63.00 in a research report on Monday, July 14th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their target price on shares of Delta Air Lines from $53.00 to $63.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Finally, TD Cowen lifted their price target on shares of Delta Air Lines from $55.00 to $66.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, July 14th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $66.21.

Insider Activity at Delta Air Lines

In other news, CEO Edward H. Bastian sold 35,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $56.28, for a total transaction of $1,969,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 632,823 shares in the company, valued at $35,615,278.44. This represents a 5.24% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, 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 sale, the executive vice president owned 191,442 shares of the company's stock, valued at $10,948,567.98. This trade represents a 8.40% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 133,973 shares of company stock valued at $7,511,746. 0.88% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.