Panagora Asset Management Inc. Buys 459,927 Shares of Delta Air Lines, Inc. $DAL

Key Points

• Panagora Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in Delta Air Lines by 117.0%, acquiring an additional 459,927 shares during the 1st quarter, bringing their total ownership to 853,189 shares valued at approximately $37.2 million.
• Insiders, including EVPs Steven M. Sear and Peter W. Carter, sold significant amounts of stock on July 15th, with sales totaling over $2 million, indicating a reduction in their ownership positions.
• Several analysts have raised their target prices for Delta Air Lines' stock, with an average consensus price target of $66.21 following optimistic ratings from multiple financial institutions.

Panagora Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL - Free Report) by 117.0% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 853,189 shares of the transportation company's stock after buying an additional 459,927 shares during the quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc. owned 0.13% of Delta Air Lines worth $37,199,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vident Advisory LLC grew its stake in shares of Delta Air Lines by 17.1% during the first quarter. Vident Advisory LLC now owns 29,097 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $1,269,000 after purchasing an additional 4,247 shares during the period. Evergreen Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Delta Air Lines by 13.1% during the first quarter. Evergreen Capital Management LLC now owns 224,071 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $9,769,000 after acquiring an additional 25,935 shares in the last quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board raised its stake in Delta Air Lines by 109.3% in the first quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 137,041 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $5,975,000 after buying an additional 71,580 shares during the period. State of Wyoming acquired a new position in shares of Delta Air Lines in the first quarter valued at approximately $179,000. Finally, LTS One Management LP acquired a new position in shares of Delta Air Lines in the first quarter valued at approximately $392,000. Institutional investors own 69.93% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on DAL. Susquehanna set a $65.00 price target on Delta Air Lines and gave the stock a "positive" rating in a research report on Friday, July 11th. Barclays increased their price target on Delta Air Lines from $58.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, July 11th. BNP Paribas Exane increased their price target on Delta Air Lines from $58.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, July 11th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on Delta Air Lines from $60.00 to $67.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, July 11th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price target on Delta Air Lines from $53.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $66.21.

Delta Air Lines Price Performance

Shares of DAL traded up $0.14 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $61.27. The stock had a trading volume of 7,235,489 shares, compared to its average volume of 10,497,683. Delta Air Lines, Inc. has a 12 month low of $34.74 and a 12 month high of $69.98. The stock has a market capitalization of $40.01 billion, a PE ratio of 8.88, a PEG ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 1.51. 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 company's 50-day moving average is $55.54 and its two-hundred day moving average is $50.65.

Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 10th. The transportation company reported $2.10 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.01 by $0.09. Delta Air Lines had a return on equity of 24.86% and a net margin of 7.24%.The company had revenue of $15.51 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $16.16 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.36 EPS. Delta Air Lines's revenue was down .1% compared to the same quarter last year. Research 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 declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 21st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 31st were 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 was Thursday, July 31st. This is a positive change from Delta Air Lines's previous quarterly dividend of $0.15. Delta Air Lines's dividend payout ratio is currently 10.87%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Edward H. Bastian sold 35,000 shares of the firm'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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 632,823 shares of the company's stock, valued at $35,615,278.44. This trade represents a 5.24% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Alain Bellemare sold 45,423 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, July 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.56, for a total value of $2,523,701.88. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 131,731 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,318,974.36. This represents a 25.64% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 136,473 shares of company stock worth $7,663,496 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.96% of the company's stock.

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.