Avantax Advisory Services Inc. Trims Stock Position in Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL)

Avantax Advisory Services Inc. lowered its position in shares of Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL) by 4.1% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 28,444 shares of the transportation company’s stock after selling 1,212 shares during the quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc.’s holdings in Delta Air Lines were worth $1,721,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. New Wave Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Delta Air Lines during the fourth quarter worth approximately $27,000. Hemington Wealth Management grew its position in shares of Delta Air Lines by 48.1% during the fourth quarter. Hemington Wealth Management now owns 474 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 154 shares during the last quarter. Roxbury Financial LLC purchased a new position in shares of Delta Air Lines during the fourth quarter worth approximately $29,000. Crews Bank & Trust acquired a new position in shares of Delta Air Lines in the 4th quarter valued at $30,000. Finally, Modus Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Delta Air Lines in the 4th quarter valued at $33,000. 69.93% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Delta Air Lines Stock Performance

Shares of DAL opened at $46.88 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 0.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92. Delta Air Lines, Inc. has a 52-week low of $37.29 and a 52-week high of $69.98. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $62.08 and a 200-day simple moving average of $58.12. The company has a market capitalization of $30.30 billion, a PE ratio of 8.79, a P/E/G ratio of 0.75 and a beta of 1.34.

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, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.76 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $15.56 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.20 billion. Delta Air Lines had a net margin of 5.61% and a return on equity of 30.41%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 9.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.28 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Delta Air Lines, Inc. will post 7.63 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Delta Air Lines Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 20th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 27th will be issued a $0.15 dividend. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.28%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 27th. Delta Air Lines’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 11.26%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have commented on DAL. TD Cowen lifted their price objective on shares of Delta Air Lines from $78.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 13th. UBS Group reduced their price objective on Delta Air Lines from $90.00 to $77.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. StockNews.com upgraded Delta Air Lines from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Susquehanna upped their price target on Delta Air Lines from $59.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of Delta Air Lines from $65.00 to $76.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Fourteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Delta Air Lines presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $76.60.

Insider Activity

In other Delta Air Lines news, CEO Edward H. Bastian sold 91,710 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.85, for a total value of $6,405,943.50. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 439,819 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $30,721,357.15. This represents a 17.25 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP William C. Carroll sold 8,400 shares of the firm’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 transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 19,756 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,304,291.12. This trade represents a 29.83 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 162,886 shares of company stock worth $11,116,463 over the last 90 days. 0.96% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.