Vanguard Group Inc. Acquires 514,264 Shares of Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL)

Key Points

• Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Delta Air Lines by acquiring 514,264 shares, now holding approximately 11.17% of the company, valued at over $3.17 billion.
• Several institutional investors, including Pacer Advisors and Ninety One UK Ltd, have made significant increases in their holdings of Delta Air Lines, collectively owning 69.93% of the stock.
• Delta Air Lines recently raised its quarterly dividend from $0.15 to $0.1875 per share, reflecting an annual yield of 1.4% and a payout ratio of 10.87%.

Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL - Free Report) by 0.7% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 72,924,506 shares of the transportation company's stock after acquiring an additional 514,264 shares during the quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. owned approximately 11.17% of Delta Air Lines worth $3,179,508,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in DAL. Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in Delta Air Lines by 5,224.6% in the 1st quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 4,336,709 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $189,081,000 after purchasing an additional 4,255,262 shares during the period. Ninety One UK Ltd boosted its stake in Delta Air Lines by 1,469.9% in the 1st quarter. Ninety One UK Ltd now owns 3,309,020 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $144,273,000 after purchasing an additional 3,098,237 shares during the period. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. boosted its stake in Delta Air Lines by 405.3% in the 4th quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. now owns 3,054,285 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $184,784,000 after purchasing an additional 2,449,874 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its stake in Delta Air Lines by 66.9% in the 1st quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 5,915,545 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $257,918,000 after purchasing an additional 2,370,795 shares during the period. Finally, Sanders Capital LLC boosted its stake in Delta Air Lines by 6.9% in the 4th quarter. Sanders Capital LLC now owns 29,764,524 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $1,800,754,000 after purchasing an additional 1,922,932 shares during the period. 69.93% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently issued reports on the company. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Delta Air Lines from $88.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, July 11th. HSBC boosted their price target on Delta Air Lines from $64.00 to $69.20 in a research note on Friday, July 11th. TD Cowen boosted their price target 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. UBS Group set a $72.00 price objective on Delta Air Lines in a report on Friday, July 11th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on Delta Air Lines from $56.00 to $62.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, July 14th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $66.21.

Insider Transactions at Delta Air Lines

In related news, EVP Alain Bellemare sold 45,423 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, July 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.56, for a total transaction of $2,523,701.88. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 131,731 shares in the company, valued at $7,318,974.36. The trade was a 25.64% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Edward H. Bastian sold 35,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction 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 sale, the chief executive officer owned 632,823 shares in the company, valued at $35,615,278.44. This represents a 5.24% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 133,973 shares of company stock worth $7,511,746. 0.88% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Delta Air Lines Price Performance

Delta Air Lines stock opened at $53.67 on Friday. 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 52 week low of $34.74 and a 52 week high of $69.98. The stock has a market capitalization of $35.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.67 and a beta of 1.56. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $51.76 and a 200-day moving average of $51.60.

Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL - Get Free Report) last posted 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 $15,507,000 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $16.16 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.36 EPS. Delta Air Lines's revenue was down .1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Delta Air Lines, Inc. will post 7.63 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Delta Air Lines Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 21st. Investors of record on Thursday, July 31st will be given a dividend of $0.1875 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 31st. This represents a $0.75 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.4%. This is an increase from Delta Air Lines's previous quarterly dividend of $0.15. Delta Air Lines's dividend payout ratio is presently 10.87%.

Delta Air Lines Profile

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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