Pictet Asset Management Holding SA Sells 38,032 Shares of Delta Air Lines, Inc. $DAL

Key Points

• Pictet sold 38,032 shares, cutting its Delta stake by 25.1% to 113,598 shares worth $7.88M, while insiders have sold roughly 353,611 shares (~$25.2M) over the past 90 days and institutional investors own about 69.9% of the stock.
• Wall Street coverage is broadly constructive — the consensus rating is a Moderate Buy with a $79.10 average price target (majority of analysts rate it Buy).
• Delta beat quarterly estimates (EPS $0.64 vs. $0.61; revenue $14.20B vs. $14.05B) and declared a $0.1875 quarterly dividend, but margin pressure risks persist from a recent Brent crude spike (~$117) and planned employee wage increases (~$500M/4%).

Pictet Asset Management Holding SA reduced its stake in shares of Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL - Free Report) by 25.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 113,598 shares of the transportation company's stock after selling 38,032 shares during the period. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA's holdings in Delta Air Lines were worth $7,884,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its holdings in Delta Air Lines by 23.3% in the 3rd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 7,661,911 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $434,813,000 after buying an additional 1,447,058 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its holdings in Delta Air Lines by 54.8% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 5,817,783 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $330,159,000 after buying an additional 2,058,744 shares during the period. LSV Asset Management boosted its holdings in Delta Air Lines by 1.3% in the 3rd quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 3,447,917 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $195,669,000 after buying an additional 42,878 shares during the period. Allianz Asset Management GmbH boosted its holdings in Delta Air Lines by 24.6% in the 3rd quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 2,791,581 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $158,422,000 after buying an additional 550,480 shares during the period. Finally, Russell Investments Group Ltd. boosted its holdings in Delta Air Lines by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 2,655,412 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $150,735,000 after buying an additional 47,631 shares during the period. 69.93% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently commented on DAL. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on shares of 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 cut their price objective on shares of Delta Air Lines from $72.00 to $70.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, March 5th. Zacks Research raised shares of Delta Air Lines from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 15th. Susquehanna cut their price objective on shares of Delta Air Lines from $81.00 to $78.00 and set a "positive" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 9th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Delta Air Lines in a report on Wednesday, January 14th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-three have given a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $79.10.

Trending Headlines about Delta Air Lines

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

• Positive Sentiment: Delta says it will invest roughly $500M this year in employee wage hikes — a move that should reduce labor unrest and help maintain capacity and service reliability, supporting revenue stability over time. Delta Air Lines Invests $500M in Workers’ Wage Hikes
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst coverage is generally constructive: recent write-ups note Delta has outperformed peers and many analysts remain optimistic about the stock’s medium-term outlook — which can lend support to the share price. Delta Air Lines Stock Outlook: Is Wall Street Bullish or Bearish?
• Neutral Sentiment: Delta is attracting investor attention and screeners (Zacks/MarketBeat coverage), which can increase trading interest but doesn't on its own change fundamentals. Delta Air Lines, Inc. (DAL) is Attracting Investor Attention
• Negative Sentiment: Insiders sold roughly $60M of DAL stock recently — a potential red flag for sentiment and a short-term headwind as markets sometimes interpret large insider sales as caution. Delta Air Lines Insiders Sell US$60m Of Stock
• Negative Sentiment: Delta is implementing a roughly 4% pay increase for workers amid elevated fuel costs — good for labor relations but raises operating expenses and compresses margins if higher fares or ancillary revenue don’t offset the cost. Delta Hits Workers With 4% Raise As Fuel Costs Pressure Airlines
• Negative Sentiment: Brent crude spiked toward $117/barrel on geopolitical headlines, a direct driver of higher jet-fuel prices and a material margin risk for airlines including Delta. Brent Crude Spikes to $117 on Iran Military Option Reports
• Negative Sentiment: International carriers are already flagging sustained fuel-cost pressure, underscoring industry-wide margin risk if prices remain elevated. This broad cost backdrop is negative for airline profitability. Japan's ANA, JAL say Middle East war lifts fuel costs

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Alain Bellemare sold 35,212 shares of Delta Air Lines stock in a transaction on Monday, February 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.20, for a total value of $2,647,942.40. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 138,176 shares in the company, valued at $10,390,835.20. This trade represents a 20.31% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Rahul D. Samant sold 62,528 shares of Delta Air Lines stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.18, for a total transaction of $4,388,215.04. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 20,939 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,469,499.02. The trade was a 74.91% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 353,611 shares of company stock worth $25,182,798 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.88% of the company's stock.

Delta Air Lines Stock Performance

NYSE DAL opened at $69.07 on Friday. Delta Air Lines, Inc. has a 52-week low of $42.94 and a 52-week high of $76.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a quick ratio of 0.36 and a current ratio of 0.42. The company has a market capitalization of $45.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.07, a P/E/G ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 1.25. The company has a fifty day moving average of $66.11 and a 200-day moving average of $66.01.

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. The company had revenue of $14.20 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.05 billion. Delta Air Lines had a net margin of 6.87% and a return on equity of 20.28%. The firm's revenue was up 9.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.46 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Delta Air Lines, Inc. will post 5.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Delta Air Lines Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 4th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 14th will be given a $0.1875 dividend. This represents a $0.75 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 14th. Delta Air Lines's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 10.93%.

About Delta Air Lines

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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