Savant Capital LLC Has $656,000 Position in Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL)

Savant Capital LLC raised its stake in shares of Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL) by 81.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 16,306 shares of the transportation company’s stock after buying an additional 7,323 shares during the quarter. Savant Capital LLC’s holdings in Delta Air Lines were worth $656,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Morgan Stanley grew its position 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 buying an additional 865,746 shares during the period. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. grew its position in shares of Delta Air Lines by 17.1% during the 3rd quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. now owns 5,091,528 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $188,514,000 after buying an additional 743,882 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp grew its position in shares of Delta Air Lines by 3.0% during the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 4,966,330 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $183,754,000 after buying an additional 145,513 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. grew its position in shares of Delta Air Lines by 27.0% during the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 4,813,848 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $178,112,000 after buying an additional 1,022,957 shares during the period. Finally, U S Global Investors Inc. grew its position 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 buying an additional 773,636 shares during the period. 69.93% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

DAL has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Bank of America increased their target price 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. Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $85.00 price objective on shares of Delta Air Lines in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Delta Air Lines from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, February 22nd. UBS Group initiated coverage on shares of Delta Air Lines in a research note on Wednesday, March 20th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $59.00 target price for the company. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price target on Delta Air Lines from $50.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Delta Air Lines presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $58.29.

Delta Air Lines Trading Up 1.0 %

Shares of Delta Air Lines stock opened at $51.55 on Friday. Delta Air Lines, Inc. has a 12-month low of $30.60 and a 12-month high of $51.65. 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 $45.98 and its 200-day moving average is $40.72. The stock has a market cap of $32.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.63, a P/E/G ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 1.38.

Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 11th. The transportation company reported $0.45 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.36 by $0.09. Delta Air Lines had a net margin of 8.48% and a return on equity of 41.89%. The firm had revenue of $13.75 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $12.51 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.25 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 7.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that Delta Air Lines, Inc. will post 6.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Delta Air Lines Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 4th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 14th will be issued a $0.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 13th. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.78%. Delta Air Lines’s dividend payout ratio is currently 5.14%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Delta Air Lines

In related news, President Glen W. Hauenstein sold 100,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $49.05, for a total value of $4,905,000.00. Following the transaction, the president now directly owns 217,584 shares in the company, valued at $10,672,495.20. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, EVP Alain Bellemare sold 24,073 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 23rd. The shares were 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 directly owns 141,451 shares in the company, valued at $6,911,295.86. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, President Glen W. Hauenstein sold 100,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $49.05, for a total transaction of $4,905,000.00. Following the sale, the president now owns 217,584 shares in the company, valued at $10,672,495.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 174,073 shares of company stock worth $8,581,207 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.89% of the company’s stock.

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.