Russell Investments Group Ltd. Has $51.04 Million Stock Position in Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL)

Russell Investments Group Ltd. increased its holdings in Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL) by 0.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,268,313 shares of the transportation company’s stock after acquiring an additional 6,827 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd. owned about 0.20% of Delta Air Lines worth $51,039,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of DAL. Jennison Associates LLC lifted its stake in Delta Air Lines by 145.2% in the 4th quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 2,618,627 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $105,347,000 after acquiring an additional 1,550,770 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. lifted its stake in Delta Air Lines by 27.0% in the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 4,813,848 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $178,112,000 after acquiring an additional 1,022,957 shares in the last quarter. Morgan Stanley raised its stake in shares of Delta Air Lines by 8.7% during the 3rd quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 10,839,122 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $401,048,000 after purchasing an additional 865,746 shares in the last quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Delta Air Lines by 541.2% during the 3rd quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 998,156 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $36,932,000 after purchasing an additional 842,487 shares in the last quarter. Finally, U S Global Investors Inc. raised its stake in shares of Delta Air Lines by 21.1% during the 4th quarter. U S Global Investors Inc. now owns 4,434,509 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $178,400,000 after purchasing an additional 773,636 shares in the last quarter. 69.93% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Delta Air Lines Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE DAL opened at $49.92 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 0.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.48. The business’s 50 day moving average is $45.03 and its two-hundred day moving average is $40.24. The company has a market cap of $32.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.42, a P/E/G ratio of 0.75 and a beta of 1.43. Delta Air Lines, Inc. has a 12 month low of $30.60 and a 12 month high of $50.24.

Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 11th. The transportation company reported $0.45 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.36 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $13.75 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $12.51 billion. Delta Air Lines had a return on equity of 41.89% and a net margin of 8.48%. Delta Air Lines’s quarterly revenue was up 7.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.25 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that Delta Air Lines, Inc. will post 6.52 EPS for the current year.

Delta Air Lines Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 4th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 14th will be paid a $0.10 dividend. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.80%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 13th. Delta Air Lines’s dividend payout ratio is 5.14%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on DAL. UBS Group began coverage on Delta Air Lines in a research note on Wednesday, March 20th. They set a “buy” rating and a $59.00 price target for the company. Bank of America raised their price target on Delta Air Lines from $53.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. TheStreet raised Delta Air Lines from a “c+” rating to a “b-” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 4th. Susquehanna raised their price target on Delta Air Lines from $47.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 9th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $85.00 price target on shares of Delta Air Lines in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $58.29.

Insider Activity at Delta Air Lines

In related news, EVP Alain Bellemare sold 24,073 shares of the business’s 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 sale, the executive vice president now owns 141,451 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,911,295.86. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other Delta Air Lines news, EVP Alain Bellemare sold 24,073 shares of the business’s 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $6,911,295.86. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Edward H. Bastian sold 71,840 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $39.20, for a total value of $2,816,128.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 428,768 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,807,705.60. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 195,913 shares of company stock valued at $8,897,335 in the last 90 days. 0.89% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.