Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. Cuts Position in Delta Air Lines, Inc. $DAL

Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. reduced its holdings in shares of Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL) by 7.7% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 118,844 shares of the transportation company’s stock after selling 9,951 shares during the quarter. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc.’s holdings in Delta Air Lines were worth $6,744,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Private Trust Co. NA boosted its position in Delta Air Lines by 3.3% during the 3rd quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 5,493 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $312,000 after purchasing an additional 174 shares during the period. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC lifted its stake in shares of Delta Air Lines by 3.2% during the third quarter. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC now owns 5,871 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $362,000 after purchasing an additional 181 shares in the last quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Delta Air Lines by 2.6% in the second quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC now owns 7,844 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $386,000 after buying an additional 196 shares during the period. Ethic Inc. boosted its position in shares of Delta Air Lines by 1.9% in the third quarter. Ethic Inc. now owns 10,578 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $600,000 after buying an additional 202 shares during the period. Finally, Nwam LLC grew its stake in shares of Delta Air Lines by 3.1% in the second quarter. Nwam LLC now owns 7,042 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $377,000 after buying an additional 212 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 69.93% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Wolfe Research reduced their target price on shares of Delta Air Lines from $72.00 to $70.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, November 17th. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on shares of Delta Air Lines from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, September 29th. UBS Group initiated coverage on Delta Air Lines in a research note on Friday, December 12th. They set a “buy” rating and a $90.00 target price for the company. Bank of America boosted their price target on Delta Air Lines from $70.00 to $74.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 15th. Finally, Raymond James Financial restated a “strong-buy” rating and set a $80.00 price objective on shares of Delta Air Lines in a research note on Friday, December 19th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and twenty-two have given a Buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $75.07.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP John E. Laughter sold 23,323 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $62.33, for a total value of $1,453,722.59. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 81,109 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,055,523.97. This trade represents a 22.33% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP William C. Carroll sold 14,010 shares of Delta Air Lines stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $61.25, for a total transaction of $858,112.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 15,816 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $968,730. This trade represents a 46.97% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 0.96% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Delta Air Lines Trading Down 2.0%

NYSE:DAL opened at $69.42 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $45.33 billion, a PE ratio of 9.78, a P/E/G ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 1.37. The business’s 50 day moving average is $63.46 and its two-hundred day moving average is $58.75. The company has a quick ratio of 0.34, a current ratio of 0.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68. Delta Air Lines, Inc. has a 52 week low of $34.74 and a 52 week high of $72.34.

Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, March 15th. The transportation company reported $0.22 earnings per share for the quarter. Delta Air Lines had a return on equity of 23.83% and a net margin of 7.36%.The business had revenue of $8.40 billion during the quarter. On average, analysts predict that Delta Air Lines, Inc. will post 7.63 EPS for the current year.

Delta Air Lines Profile

Delta Air Lines is a major U.S.-based global airline that provides scheduled passenger and cargo air transportation, aircraft maintenance and repair services, and related travel products. Its operations include mainline domestic and international passenger services, a branded regional network operating under the Delta Connection name, dedicated air cargo carriage, and in-house maintenance, repair and overhaul through Delta TechOps. Delta offers a range of cabin products for different customer segments, including premium business-class service on long-haul routes and tiered economy offerings on domestic and international flights, and it markets customer loyalty benefits through the SkyMiles frequent-flyer program.

The carrier operates a mixed fleet of narrow- and wide-body aircraft from multiple U.S.