Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL) Shares Sold by Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc.

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. lessened its stake in shares of Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL) by 0.1% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 381,337 shares of the transportation company’s stock after selling 222 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc.’s holdings in Delta Air Lines were worth $19,368,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Future Financial Wealth Managment LLC bought a new stake in Delta Air Lines during the third quarter worth approximately $25,000. Kimelman & Baird LLC bought a new stake in Delta Air Lines during the second quarter worth approximately $31,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new position in Delta Air Lines in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $31,000. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC acquired a new position in Delta Air Lines in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $36,000. Finally, Unique Wealth Strategies LLC acquired a new position in Delta Air Lines in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $40,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 69.93% of the company’s stock.

Delta Air Lines Stock Down 1.2 %

Delta Air Lines stock opened at $64.07 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $41.34 billion, a PE ratio of 8.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.22 and a beta of 1.33. Delta Air Lines, Inc. has a twelve month low of $35.28 and a twelve month high of $66.25. The company has a quick ratio of 0.34, a current ratio of 0.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.05. The company has a 50 day moving average of $53.06 and a 200-day moving average of $48.70.

Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 10th. The transportation company reported $1.50 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.52 by ($0.02). Delta Air Lines had a net margin of 7.71% and a return on equity of 29.93%. The company had revenue of $15.68 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.65 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.03 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Delta Air Lines, Inc. will post 6.07 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Delta Air Lines Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 31st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 10th were given a $0.15 dividend. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.94%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, October 10th. Delta Air Lines’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 8.33%.

Insider Transactions at Delta Air Lines

In other Delta Air Lines news, SVP William C. Carroll sold 21,530 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.62, for a total value of $1,305,148.60. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 19,756 shares in the company, valued at $1,197,608.72. This represents a 52.15 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Joanne D. Smith sold 3,431 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, October 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.46, for a total value of $173,128.26. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 108,990 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,499,635.40. This trade represents a 3.05 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 140,240 shares of company stock worth $8,044,893 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.96% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

DAL has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on shares of Delta Air Lines from $58.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, November 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Delta Air Lines from $68.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, October 11th. BNP Paribas raised shares of Delta Air Lines to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their target price on shares of Delta Air Lines from $62.00 to $65.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “buy” rating and set a $83.00 target price on shares of Delta Air Lines in a research note on Friday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $71.22.

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.