University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. Takes Position in Delta Air Lines, Inc. $DAL

Key Points

• University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. opened a new position in Delta Air Lines during the fourth quarter, buying 13,762 shares worth about $955,000.
• Delta reported strong quarterly results, with EPS of $0.64 beating estimates of $0.61 and revenue of $14.20 billion topping expectations; revenue also rose 9.4% year over year.
• Wall Street remains largely positive on DAL, with a Moderate Buy consensus and an average price target of $80.85, even as some insiders recently sold shares.

University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. acquired a new position in shares of Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 13,762 shares of the transportation company's stock, valued at approximately $955,000.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Life Cycle Investment Partners Ltd acquired a new position in Delta Air Lines in the fourth quarter valued at $471,532,000. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its holdings in shares of Delta Air Lines by 54.8% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 5,817,783 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $330,159,000 after purchasing an additional 2,058,744 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its holdings in shares of Delta Air Lines by 23.9% in the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 9,496,296 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $659,043,000 after purchasing an additional 1,834,385 shares during the period. Allianz Asset Management GmbH grew its holdings in shares of Delta Air Lines by 55.0% during the 4th quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 4,327,719 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $300,344,000 after purchasing an additional 1,536,138 shares during the period. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP grew its holdings in shares of Delta Air Lines by 16,044.7% during the 3rd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 1,263,320 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $71,693,000 after purchasing an additional 1,255,495 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 69.93% of the company's stock.

Delta Air Lines Stock Up 1.2%

Shares of NYSE:DAL opened at $84.02 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $55.20 billion, a PE ratio of 12.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.17 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $73.37 and a 200 day simple moving average of $69.75. 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, Inc. has a 12-month low of $45.28 and a 12-month high of $87.39.

Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 8th. The transportation company reported $0.64 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.61 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $14.20 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.05 billion. Delta Air Lines had a net margin of 6.87% and a return on equity of 20.28%. The company's revenue was up 9.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.46 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Delta Air Lines, Inc. will post 5.37 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Delta Air Lines Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 4th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 14th were paid a dividend of $0.1875 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 14th. This represents a $0.75 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.9%. Delta Air Lines's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 10.93%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have weighed in on DAL shares. BNP Paribas Exane reduced their price target on shares of Delta Air Lines from $85.00 to $81.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. Susquehanna lowered their price target on Delta Air Lines from $81.00 to $78.00 and set a "positive" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 9th. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Delta Air Lines from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a research report on Friday, March 6th. Sanford C. Bernstein upped their target price on shares of Delta Air Lines from $81.00 to $88.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, May 11th. Finally, Raymond James Financial lifted their price target on shares of Delta Air Lines from $76.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 9th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-three have issued a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Delta Air Lines currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $80.85.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Delta Air Lines news, EVP Alain Bellemare sold 25,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $81.44, for a total value of $2,036,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 95,025 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,738,836. This represents a 20.83% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Allison C. Ausband sold 9,710 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $76.00, for a total value of $737,960.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 138,854 shares of the company's stock, valued at $10,552,904. This trade represents a 6.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 149,635 shares of company stock valued at $10,833,855 over the last 90 days. 0.80% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Delta Air Lines 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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