VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al Makes New $15.14 Million Investment in Delta Air Lines, Inc. $DAL

Key Points

• The Virginia Retirement Systems purchased a new investment of approximately $15.14 million in Delta Air Lines, acquiring 307,800 shares in the second quarter.
• Major institutional investors, including Vanguard and AQR Capital Management, have significantly increased their stakes in Delta Air Lines, indicating a strong interest in the company.
• Several analysts have raised their price targets for Delta Air Lines, with Deutsche Bank setting a new target of $72.00 and the average target now at $71.53, suggesting a positive outlook for the stock.

VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al bought a new position in Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL - Free Report) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm bought 307,800 shares of the transportation company's stock, valued at approximately $15,138,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Delta Air Lines by 0.7% in 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 in the last quarter. Kingstone Capital Partners Texas LLC bought a new stake in shares of Delta Air Lines in the 2nd quarter worth $386,364,000. Invesco Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Delta Air Lines by 30.2% in 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 in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Delta Air Lines by 149.9% in 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its holdings in shares of 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 worth $257,918,000 after purchasing an additional 2,370,795 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 69.93% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Michael P. Huerta sold 2,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.70, for a total value of $151,750.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 33,245 shares in the company, valued at $2,017,971.50. The trade was a 6.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Edward H. Bastian sold 35,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $56.28, for a total value of $1,969,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 632,823 shares in the company, valued at $35,615,278.44. The trade was a 5.24% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 51,510 shares of company stock worth $2,979,663 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.96% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently commented on the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price objective on Delta Air Lines from $63.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, October 10th. Raymond James Financial lifted their price objective on Delta Air Lines from $68.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Friday, October 10th. Susquehanna lifted their price objective on Delta Air Lines from $68.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock a "positive" rating in a report on Friday, October 10th. Bernstein Bank lifted their price objective on Delta Air Lines from $60.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, July 11th. Finally, TD Cowen lifted their price objective on Delta Air Lines from $66.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, October 13th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and twenty have given a Buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Delta Air Lines currently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $71.53.

Delta Air Lines Trading Down 1.2%

Delta Air Lines stock opened at $59.70 on Monday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $59.35 and a 200 day moving average of $52.22. The firm has a market capitalization of $38.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.41, a P/E/G ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 1.50. Delta Air Lines, Inc. has a 12-month low of $34.74 and a 12-month high of $69.98. The company has a current ratio of 0.40, a quick ratio of 0.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68.

Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, March 15th. The transportation company reported $0.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. The company had revenue of $8.40 billion during the quarter. Delta Air Lines had a net margin of 7.36% and a return on equity of 23.83%. As a group, research analysts predict that Delta Air Lines, Inc. will post 7.63 earnings per share for the current year.

Delta Air Lines Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, November 6th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 16th will be given a $0.1875 dividend. This represents a $0.75 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 16th. Delta Air Lines's payout ratio is presently 10.56%.

Delta Air Lines Company 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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