The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company Sells 8,428 Shares of Delta Air Lines, Inc. $DAL

Key Points

• The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company reduced its stake in Delta Air Lines by 2.1%, selling 8,428 shares to own 394,879 shares worth approximately $17.2 million.
• Recent analyst reports have increased price targets for Delta Air Lines, with TD Cowen setting a new target of $66.00, and a consensus rating of "Buy" among the majority of analysts.
• Delta Air Lines announced a recent quarterly dividend increase to $0.1875, reflecting a positive change from its previous dividend of $0.15, resulting in an annualized yield of 1.2%.

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lowered its stake in shares of Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL - Free Report) by 2.1% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 394,879 shares of the transportation company's stock after selling 8,428 shares during the quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company owned about 0.06% of Delta Air Lines worth $17,217,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Continuum Advisory LLC boosted its holdings in Delta Air Lines by 44.2% in the fourth quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 584 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 179 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Preservation Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Delta Air Lines in the first quarter valued at about $31,000. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT acquired a new position in Delta Air Lines in the first quarter valued at about $33,000. Hara Capital LLC acquired a new position in Delta Air Lines in the first quarter valued at about $35,000. Finally, Bernard Wealth Management Corp. acquired a new position in Delta Air Lines in the fourth quarter valued at about $51,000. 69.93% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

DAL has been the topic of several analyst reports. TD Cowen increased their target price on Delta Air Lines from $55.00 to $66.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, July 14th. Susquehanna set a $65.00 price objective on Delta Air Lines and gave the stock a "positive" rating in a report on Friday, July 11th. Wolfe Research raised their price target on Delta Air Lines from $56.00 to $63.00 in a research note on Monday, July 14th. Sanford C. Bernstein restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Delta Air Lines in a research note on Friday, July 11th. Finally, Raymond James Financial lifted their target price on Delta Air Lines from $60.00 to $68.00 in a research note on Friday, July 11th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have given a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $66.21.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Steven M. Sear sold 18,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.96, for a total transaction of $1,007,280.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 97,505 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,456,379.80. This represents a 15.58% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Edward H. Bastian sold 35,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $56.28, for a total value of $1,969,800.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 632,823 shares in the company, valued at approximately $35,615,278.44. This trade represents a 5.24% 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 over the last three months. Insiders own 0.96% of the company's stock.

Delta Air Lines Trading Down 1.0%

NYSE DAL opened at $61.16 on Wednesday. The business's 50-day moving average price is $55.54 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $50.65. Delta Air Lines, Inc. has a 12 month low of $34.74 and a 12 month high of $69.98. The firm has a market capitalization of $39.93 billion, a PE ratio of 8.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 1.51. The company has a current ratio of 0.38, a quick ratio of 0.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74.

Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL - Get Free Report) last released 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. The firm had revenue of $15.51 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.16 billion. Delta Air Lines had a return on equity of 24.86% and a net margin of 7.24%.The business's revenue was down .1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.36 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Delta Air Lines, Inc. will post 7.63 EPS for the current year.

Delta Air Lines Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 21st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 31st were paid a $0.1875 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, July 31st. This represents a $0.75 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.2%. This is a positive change from Delta Air Lines's previous quarterly dividend of $0.15. Delta Air Lines's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 10.87%.

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.

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