Strategic Blueprint LLC Sells 17,491 Shares of Delta Air Lines, Inc. $DAL

Key Points

• Strategic Blueprint LLC trimmed its stake in Delta Air Lines by 17.7% in Q4, selling 17,491 shares and leaving it with 81,288 shares worth about $5.64 million.
• Company insiders have been active sellers recently — EVP Rahul D. Samant sold 62,528 shares (avg $70.18) and EVP Steven M. Sear sold 38,600 shares (avg $75.05); insiders have sold 353,611 shares valued at roughly $25.18 million in the past 90 days.
• Delta beat quarterly expectations with EPS of $0.64 (vs. $0.61 est.) and revenue of $14.20 billion (vs. $14.05B est.), and announced a quarterly dividend of $0.1875 per share (annualized $0.75, ~1.1% yield) payable June 4.

Strategic Blueprint LLC reduced its holdings in Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL - Free Report) by 17.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 81,288 shares of the transportation company's stock after selling 17,491 shares during the quarter. Strategic Blueprint LLC's holdings in Delta Air Lines were worth $5,641,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. First Financial Bank Trust Division grew its position in shares of Delta Air Lines by 3.3% in the 4th quarter. First Financial Bank Trust Division now owns 4,721 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $328,000 after buying an additional 150 shares during the last quarter. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Delta Air Lines by 25.4% during the fourth quarter. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 794 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $55,000 after purchasing an additional 161 shares in the last quarter. Apella Capital LLC boosted its position in shares of Delta Air Lines by 4.6% during the fourth quarter. Apella Capital LLC now owns 3,717 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $258,000 after purchasing an additional 164 shares in the last quarter. Private Trust Co. NA boosted its position in shares of Delta Air Lines by 3.3% during the third quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 5,493 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $312,000 after purchasing an additional 174 shares in the last quarter. Finally, HBK Sorce Advisory LLC boosted its position in shares of Delta Air Lines by 3.2% during the third quarter. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC now owns 5,871 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $362,000 after purchasing an additional 181 shares in the last quarter. 69.93% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Delta Air Lines

In other Delta Air Lines news, 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Steven M. Sear sold 38,600 shares of Delta Air Lines stock in a transaction on Monday, February 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.05, for a total value of $2,896,930.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 104,404 shares of the company's stock, valued at $7,835,520.20. The trade was a 26.99% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 353,611 shares of company stock valued at $25,182,798 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.96% of the company's stock.

Delta Air Lines Stock Down 0.3%

Shares of NYSE:DAL opened at $68.25 on Tuesday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $66.26 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $65.87. The stock has a market capitalization of $44.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.95, a PEG ratio of 1.00 and a beta of 1.31. Delta Air Lines, Inc. has a 12-month low of $39.94 and a 12-month high of $76.39. The company has a current ratio of 0.42, a quick ratio of 0.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54.

Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 8th. The transportation company reported $0.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.61 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $14.20 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $14.05 billion. Delta Air Lines had a return on equity of 20.28% and a net margin of 6.87%.The firm's quarterly revenue was up 9.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.46 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that Delta Air Lines, Inc. will post 5.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Delta Air Lines Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 4th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.1875 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 14th. This represents a $0.75 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.1%. Delta Air Lines's payout ratio is presently 10.93%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

DAL has been the topic of several research reports. Rothschild & Co Redburn dropped their price target on Delta Air Lines from $72.00 to $70.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, March 5th. Wolfe Research dropped their price target on Delta Air Lines from $81.00 to $73.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 7th. TD Cowen lifted their price target on Delta Air Lines from $76.00 to $84.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 9th. Weiss Ratings lowered Delta Air Lines from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a research report on Friday, March 6th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded Delta Air Lines from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 15th. 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. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $79.10.

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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding DAL? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.