OCONNOR A Distinct Business Unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC Sells 56,417 Shares of Delta Air Lines, Inc. $DAL

Key Points

• UBS’s OCONNOR unit cut its Delta Air Lines stake by 49% in the fourth quarter, selling 56,417 shares and leaving it with 58,731 shares valued at about $4.08 million.
• Delta insiders have also been selling stock, including EVP John E. Laughter and EVP Alain Bellemare; insiders sold 149,635 shares worth $10.83 million in the last quarter.
• Analysts remain broadly positive and Delta beat earnings expectations, with Q1 EPS of $0.64 versus $0.61 expected and revenue of $14.20 billion versus $14.05 billion estimated, while the stock carries a “Moderate Buy” consensus target of $80.85.

OCONNOR A Distinct Business Unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC decreased its position in Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL - Free Report) by 49.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 58,731 shares of the transportation company's stock after selling 56,417 shares during the period. OCONNOR A Distinct Business Unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC's holdings in Delta Air Lines were worth $4,076,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in DAL. AlphaQuest LLC boosted its holdings 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 during the last quarter. Lloyd Advisory Services LLC. bought a new position in Delta Air Lines during the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. Camelot Portfolios LLC bought a new position in Delta Air Lines during the fourth quarter worth about $34,000. Accredited Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings 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 during the last quarter. Finally, Byrne Asset Management LLC bought a new position in Delta Air Lines during the fourth quarter worth about $35,000. Institutional investors own 69.93% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Delta Air Lines

In related news, EVP John E. Laughter sold 15,000 shares of Delta Air Lines stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the executive vice president owned 54,369 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,893,364.09. This trade represents a 21.62% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Alain Bellemare sold 25,000 shares of Delta Air Lines stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $81.44, for a total value of $2,036,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 95,025 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,738,836. This represents a 20.83% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 149,635 shares of company stock valued at $10,833,855. 0.80% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have issued reports on DAL. Wolfe Research reduced their target price on Delta Air Lines from $81.00 to $73.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 7th. Weiss Ratings cut Delta Air Lines from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a report on Friday, March 6th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on Delta Air Lines from $78.00 to $81.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, April 13th. Rothschild & Co Redburn reduced their target price on Delta Air Lines from $72.00 to $70.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 5th. Finally, BNP Paribas Exane reduced their target price on Delta Air Lines from $85.00 to $81.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. One 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $80.85.

Delta Air Lines Trading Up 1.2%

NYSE DAL opened at $84.02 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $55.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.25, a P/E/G ratio of 1.17 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 0.42 and a quick ratio of 0.36. The stock's 50-day moving average is $73.37 and its 200-day moving average is $69.75. Delta Air Lines, Inc. has a one year low of $45.28 and a one year high of $87.39.

Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 8th. The transportation company reported $0.64 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates 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 return on equity of 20.28% and a net margin of 6.87%.Delta Air Lines's revenue was up 9.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.46 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Delta Air Lines, Inc. will post 5.37 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Delta Air Lines Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 4th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 14th were given a $0.1875 dividend. This represents a $0.75 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 14th. Delta Air Lines's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 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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