PNC Financial Services Group Inc. Has $10.98 Million Stock Holdings in Delta Air Lines, Inc. $DAL

Key Points

• PNC Financial Services Group increased its Delta Air Lines stake by 25.6% in the fourth quarter, ending with 158,269 shares valued at about $10.98 million.
• Delta’s latest quarter topped expectations, with EPS of $0.64 versus $0.61 expected and revenue of $14.20 billion, up 9.4% year over year. Analysts now expect full-year EPS of 5.26.
• The company also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.1875 per share, or $0.75 annually, for a 1.0% yield. Meanwhile, analysts remain broadly bullish, with a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a target price of $79.76.

PNC Financial Services Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL - Free Report) by 25.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 158,269 shares of the transportation company's stock after buying an additional 32,304 shares during the quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc.'s holdings in Delta Air Lines were worth $10,984,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of DAL. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its stake in shares of Delta Air Lines by 33.5% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 9,174 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $555,000 after purchasing an additional 2,302 shares during the period. Acadian Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Delta Air Lines in the 1st quarter valued at $178,000. Sivia Capital Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Delta Air Lines in the 2nd quarter valued at $555,000. Marshall Wace LLP lifted its stake in shares of Delta Air Lines by 102.2% in the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 7,825 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $385,000 after purchasing an additional 357,825 shares during the period. Finally, Daiwa Securities Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Delta Air Lines by 10.6% in the 2nd quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 58,129 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $2,859,000 after purchasing an additional 5,564 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 69.93% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

DAL has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Rothschild & Co Redburn cut their price target on Delta Air Lines from $72.00 to $70.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 5th. Seaport Research Partners increased their price target on Delta Air Lines from $81.00 to $83.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 9th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on Delta Air Lines from $87.00 to $75.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 16th. Susquehanna cut their price target on Delta Air Lines from $81.00 to $78.00 and set a "positive" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 9th. Finally, BNP Paribas Exane cut their price target on Delta Air Lines from $85.00 to $81.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-three have assigned a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Delta Air Lines presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $79.76.

Delta Air Lines Price Performance

DAL opened at $76.16 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 0.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54. Delta Air Lines, Inc. has a 12 month low of $45.28 and a 12 month high of $77.10. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $68.23 and a 200 day simple moving average of $67.20. The stock has a market cap of $50.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.10, a P/E/G ratio of 1.10 and a beta of 1.25.

Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 8th. The transportation company reported $0.64 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.61 by $0.03. Delta Air Lines had a net margin of 6.87% and a return on equity of 20.28%. The business had revenue of $14.20 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $14.05 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.46 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 9.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that Delta Air Lines, Inc. will post 5.26 EPS for the current year.

Delta Air Lines Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed 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. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 14th. This represents a $0.75 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.0%. Delta Air Lines's dividend payout ratio is currently 10.93%.

Insider Activity at Delta Air Lines

In related news, EVP John E. Laughter sold 15,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.61, for a total value of $1,074,150.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 54,369 shares in the company, valued at $3,893,364.09. This represents a 21.62% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Alain Bellemare sold 20,621 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.75, for a total transaction of $1,500,177.75. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 120,025 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $8,731,818.75. This represents a 14.66% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 204,925 shares of company stock worth $14,323,395 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.80% of the company's stock.

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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