Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV) Shares Sold by Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc.

Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. trimmed its stake in Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV – Get Rating) by 2.5% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 409,793 shares of the airline’s stock after selling 10,381 shares during the quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. owned approximately 0.07% of Southwest Airlines worth $12,638,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp raised its holdings in shares of Southwest Airlines by 14.2% in the second quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp now owns 76,498 shares of the airline’s stock worth $2,763,000 after acquiring an additional 9,540 shares during the last quarter. Heritage Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Southwest Airlines in the second quarter valued at $35,000. Integrated Advisors Network LLC increased its stake in Southwest Airlines by 6.9% in the second quarter. Integrated Advisors Network LLC now owns 9,656 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $349,000 after purchasing an additional 621 shares during the last quarter. Stelac Advisory Services LLC acquired a new position in Southwest Airlines in the first quarter valued at $152,000. Finally, New York State Teachers Retirement System increased its stake in Southwest Airlines by 2.1% in the second quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System now owns 605,255 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $21,862,000 after purchasing an additional 12,721 shares during the last quarter. 74.71% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Southwest Airlines

In related news, Director John T. Montford sold 2,250 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $38.87, for a total value of $87,457.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 21,046 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $818,058.02. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.32% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently commented on LUV shares. Susquehanna dropped their target price on Southwest Airlines from $45.00 to $40.00 in a research note on Tuesday, October 11th. Susquehanna Bancshares lowered their price target on Southwest Airlines from $45.00 to $40.00 in a research report on Tuesday, October 11th. Barclays boosted their price target on Southwest Airlines from $40.00 to $48.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 1st. StockNews.com raised Southwest Airlines from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 28th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on Southwest Airlines in a research report on Friday, December 16th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $41.00 price target for the company. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $50.43.

Southwest Airlines Price Performance

Shares of NYSE LUV opened at $35.08 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $20.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.41, a PEG ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 1.10. Southwest Airlines Co. has a 1-year low of $30.20 and a 1-year high of $50.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 1.58 and a quick ratio of 1.50. The business has a 50-day moving average of $37.07 and a 200-day moving average of $36.65.

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV – Get Rating) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 27th. The airline reported $0.50 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.41 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $6.20 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.22 billion. Southwest Airlines had a return on equity of 9.66% and a net margin of 3.64%. Southwest Airlines’s revenue for the quarter was up 32.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted ($0.23) earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Southwest Airlines Co. will post 2.24 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Southwest Airlines Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, January 31st. Investors of record on Tuesday, January 10th will be issued a $0.18 dividend. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.05%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, January 9th.

About Southwest Airlines

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Southwest Airlines Co operates as a passenger airline company that provide scheduled air transportation services in the United States and near-international markets. As of December 31, 2021, the company operated a total fleet of 728 Boeing 737 aircrafts; and served 121 destinations in 42 states, the District of Columbia, and the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, as well as 10 near-international countries, including Mexico, Jamaica, the Bahamas, Aruba, the Dominican Republic, Costa Rica, Belize, Cuba, the Cayman Islands, and Turks and Caicos.