Daiwa Securities Group Inc. Has $2.83 Million Holdings in Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL)

Daiwa Securities Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL) by 13.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 46,849 shares of the transportation company’s stock after acquiring an additional 5,451 shares during the quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc.’s holdings in Delta Air Lines were worth $2,834,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in DAL. Sanders Capital LLC grew its stake in shares of Delta Air Lines by 2.8% during the third quarter. Sanders Capital LLC now owns 27,841,592 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $1,414,074,000 after buying an additional 749,099 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in Delta Air Lines by 2.8% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 15,501,936 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $789,452,000 after acquiring an additional 416,338 shares during the last quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Delta Air Lines in the 3rd quarter worth about $281,206,000. Castle Hook Partners LP bought a new position in Delta Air Lines in the third quarter valued at about $189,296,000. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Delta Air Lines by 2.9% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,597,589 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $217,654,000 after purchasing an additional 100,102 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 69.93% of the company’s stock.

Delta Air Lines Price Performance

Delta Air Lines stock opened at $43.83 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $28.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.22, a PEG ratio of 0.75 and a beta of 1.34. Delta Air Lines, Inc. has a 52-week low of $37.29 and a 52-week high of $69.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.32 and a current ratio of 0.37. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $62.58 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $57.80.

Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL) last issued its earnings results on Friday, January 10th. The transportation company reported $1.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.76 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $15.56 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.20 billion. Delta Air Lines had a net margin of 5.61% and a return on equity of 30.41%. Delta Air Lines’s revenue was up 9.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.28 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that Delta Air Lines, Inc. will post 7.63 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 Thursday, March 20th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 27th will be paid a $0.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 27th. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.37%. Delta Air Lines’s dividend payout ratio is presently 11.26%.

Insider Activity at Delta Air Lines

In other news, SVP William C. Carroll sold 8,400 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $66.02, for a total transaction of $554,568.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 19,756 shares in the company, valued at $1,304,291.12. The trade was a 29.83 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Edward H. Bastian sold 91,710 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.85, for a total value of $6,405,943.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 439,819 shares in the company, valued at approximately $30,721,357.15. This represents a 17.25 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 162,886 shares of company stock valued at $11,116,463 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.96% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. UBS Group dropped their price objective on shares of Delta Air Lines from $90.00 to $77.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday. Susquehanna raised their price target on shares of Delta Air Lines from $59.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of Delta Air Lines from $90.00 to $80.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday. Citigroup increased their price objective on Delta Air Lines from $65.00 to $76.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $83.00 target price on shares of Delta Air Lines in a report on Friday, November 15th. Fourteen analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $76.60.

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.