Summit Global Investments Lowers Stake in Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL)

Summit Global Investments reduced its stake in shares of Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL - Free Report) by 95.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 8,322 shares of the transportation company's stock after selling 162,622 shares during the quarter. Summit Global Investments' holdings in Delta Air Lines were worth $335,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Morgan Stanley grew its position in shares of Delta Air Lines by 8.7% in the 3rd quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 10,839,122 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $401,048,000 after acquiring an additional 865,746 shares in the last quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Delta Air Lines by 17.1% during the third quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. now owns 5,091,528 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $188,514,000 after purchasing an additional 743,882 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp raised its holdings in Delta Air Lines by 3.0% during the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 4,966,330 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $183,754,000 after buying an additional 145,513 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. lifted its stake in Delta Air Lines by 27.0% during the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 4,813,848 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $178,112,000 after buying an additional 1,022,957 shares in the last quarter. Finally, U S Global Investors Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Delta Air Lines by 21.1% in the fourth quarter. U S Global Investors Inc. now owns 4,434,509 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $178,400,000 after buying an additional 773,636 shares during the period. 69.93% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the stock. UBS Group assumed coverage on shares of Delta Air Lines in a research note on Wednesday, March 20th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $59.00 price objective for the company. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and issued a $85.00 target price on shares of Delta Air Lines in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Bank of America lifted their price target on Delta Air Lines from $53.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Susquehanna boosted their target price on Delta Air Lines from $47.00 to $54.00 and gave the company a "positive" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 9th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Delta Air Lines from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, February 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $58.29.

Delta Air Lines Stock Performance

Delta Air Lines stock traded up $1.38 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $52.93. The company's stock had a trading volume of 8,538,874 shares, compared to its average volume of 10,789,813. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $46.20 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $40.95. Delta Air Lines, Inc. has a 1-year low of $30.60 and a 1-year high of $53.00. The company has a market cap of $33.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.80, a PEG ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 1.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.48, a current ratio of 0.41 and a quick ratio of 0.36.

Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 11th. The transportation company reported $0.45 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.36 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $13.75 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $12.51 billion. Delta Air Lines had a return on equity of 41.89% and a net margin of 8.48%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 7.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.25 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Delta Air Lines, Inc. will post 6.61 earnings per share for the current year.

Delta Air Lines Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 4th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 14th will be given a $0.10 dividend. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.76%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 13th. Delta Air Lines's payout ratio is presently 5.14%.

Insider Transactions at Delta Air Lines

In other news, EVP Alain Bellemare sold 24,073 shares of Delta Air Lines stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $48.86, for a total value of $1,176,206.78. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 141,451 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,911,295.86. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other Delta Air Lines news, EVP Alain Bellemare sold 24,073 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.86, for a total value of $1,176,206.78. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 141,451 shares in the company, valued at $6,911,295.86. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, President Glen W. Hauenstein sold 100,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, April 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $49.05, for a total transaction of $4,905,000.00. Following the transaction, the president now owns 217,584 shares of the company's stock, valued at $10,672,495.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 174,073 shares of company stock valued at $8,581,207. Company insiders own 0.89% of the company's stock.

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.