UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC Buys 125,455 Shares of Delta Air Lines, Inc. $DAL

Key Points

• UBS Asset Management increased its stake in Delta Air Lines by 9.0%, acquiring an additional 125,455 shares to own approximately 1,523,325 shares valued at $66,417,000.
• Delta Air Lines recently reported earnings of $2.10 EPS for the quarter, slightly above analysts' expectations of $2.01, although its revenue of $15.51 billion fell short of the predicted $16.16 billion.
• The company has announced a quarterly dividend increase from $0.15 to $0.1875, reflecting its commitment to returning value to shareholders with a current payout ratio of 10.87%.

UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC grew its stake in Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL - Free Report) by 9.0% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,523,325 shares of the transportation company's stock after purchasing an additional 125,455 shares during the period. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC owned approximately 0.23% of Delta Air Lines worth $66,417,000 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 business. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in Delta Air Lines by 0.7% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 72,924,506 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $3,179,508,000 after purchasing an additional 514,264 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. increased its holdings in Delta Air Lines by 30.2% during the 1st quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 7,242,852 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $315,788,000 after purchasing an additional 1,681,464 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Delta Air Lines by 149.9% during the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 5,963,882 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $246,487,000 after purchasing an additional 3,577,489 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its holdings in Delta Air Lines by 66.9% during the 1st quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 5,915,545 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $257,918,000 after purchasing an additional 2,370,795 shares during the period. Finally, Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in Delta Air Lines by 5,224.6% during the 1st quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 4,336,709 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $189,081,000 after purchasing an additional 4,255,262 shares during the period. 69.93% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Delta Air Lines Stock Performance

Shares of DAL opened at $59.94 on Monday. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $57.35 and a two-hundred day moving average of $50.47. Delta Air Lines, Inc. has a one year low of $34.74 and a one year high of $69.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 0.33 and a current ratio of 0.38. The stock has a market cap of $39.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.69, a P/E/G ratio of 1.85 and a beta of 1.51.

Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 10th. The transportation company reported $2.10 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.01 by $0.09. Delta Air Lines had a return on equity of 24.86% and a net margin of 7.24%.The company had revenue of $15.51 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $16.16 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.36 EPS. The firm's revenue was down .1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that Delta Air Lines, Inc. will post 7.63 EPS for the current year.

Delta Air Lines Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 21st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 31st were issued a $0.1875 dividend. This is a boost from Delta Air Lines's previous quarterly dividend of $0.15. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, July 31st. This represents a $0.75 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.3%. Delta Air Lines's payout ratio is presently 10.87%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Steven M. Sear sold 18,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.96, for a total value of $1,007,280.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 97,505 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,456,379.80. The trade was a 15.58% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Peter W. Carter sold 17,550 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $57.19, for a total value of $1,003,684.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 191,442 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $10,948,567.98. This trade represents a 8.40% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 136,473 shares of company stock worth $7,663,496. 0.96% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have commented on the company. TD Cowen raised their price objective on Delta Air Lines from $55.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, July 14th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Delta Air Lines from $88.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, July 11th. Wolfe Research lifted their price target on Delta Air Lines from $56.00 to $63.00 in a report on Monday, July 14th. Susquehanna Bancshares lifted their price target on Delta Air Lines from $51.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a "positive" rating in a report on Friday, July 11th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on Delta Air Lines from $60.00 to $67.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, July 11th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $66.93.

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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