Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL) Shares Sold by Sienna Gestion

Key Points

• Sienna Gestion reduced its holdings in Delta Air Lines by 6.3%, owning now 111,092 shares valued at $4.7 million after selling 7,488 shares in the first quarter.
• Delta Air Lines reported $2.10 earnings per share for the last quarter, surpassing expectations, but revenue saw a slight decline of 0.1% year-over-year.
• The company's quarterly dividend was increased to $0.1875 per share, representing an annualized yield of 1.3%, with the ex-dividend date set for July 31.

Sienna Gestion reduced its position in shares of Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL - Free Report) by 6.3% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 111,092 shares of the transportation company's stock after selling 7,488 shares during the quarter. Sienna Gestion's holdings in Delta Air Lines were worth $4,708,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC boosted its stake in shares of Delta Air Lines by 5.9% during the 1st quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 161,395 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $7,037,000 after acquiring an additional 9,034 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Delta Air Lines by 2.6% during the 1st quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,690,361 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $160,900,000 after purchasing an additional 92,772 shares during the last quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC raised its position in shares of Delta Air Lines by 152.3% during the 1st quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 12,567 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $548,000 after purchasing an additional 7,586 shares during the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its position in shares of Delta Air Lines by 8.2% during the 1st quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 39,374 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $1,670,000 after purchasing an additional 2,973 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Delta Air Lines by 1,169.4% during the 1st quarter. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. now owns 7,248 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $316,000 after purchasing an additional 6,677 shares during the last quarter. 69.93% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Delta Air Lines Stock Up 2.2%

Shares of NYSE:DAL traded up $1.31 during trading on Friday, hitting $60.27. The company's stock had a trading volume of 9,821,226 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,550,603. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $52.64 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $51.16. The company has a market capitalization of $39.35 billion, a PE ratio of 8.73, a P/E/G ratio of 1.88 and a beta of 1.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 0.33 and a current ratio of 0.38. Delta Air Lines, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $34.74 and a fifty-two week high of $69.98.

Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 10th. The transportation company reported $2.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.01 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $15,507,000 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $16.16 billion. Delta Air Lines had a net margin of 7.24% and a return on equity of 24.86%. The company's revenue for the quarter was down .1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.36 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect 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. Investors of record on Thursday, July 31st will be given a $0.1875 dividend. This represents a $0.75 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.2%. This is a boost from Delta Air Lines's previous quarterly dividend of $0.15. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 31st. Delta Air Lines's dividend payout ratio is presently 10.87%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price target on shares of Delta Air Lines from $53.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on shares of Delta Air Lines from $56.00 to $62.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, July 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective 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. Raymond James Financial increased their price objective on shares of Delta Air Lines from $60.00 to $68.00 in a report on Friday, July 11th. Finally, HSBC increased their price objective on shares of Delta Air Lines from $64.00 to $69.20 in a report on Friday, July 11th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $66.21.

Insider Activity at Delta Air Lines

In related news, EVP Steven M. Sear sold 18,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.96, for a total value of $1,007,280.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 97,505 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,456,379.80. The trade was a 15.58% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Edward H. Bastian sold 35,000 shares of Delta Air Lines 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 transaction, the chief executive officer owned 632,823 shares in the company, valued at approximately $35,615,278.44. This represents a 5.24% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 133,973 shares of company stock valued at $7,511,746 in the last ninety days. 0.96% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.