Bessemer Group Inc. Has $2.60 Million Stake in Delta Air Lines, Inc. $DAL

Bessemer Group Inc. raised its stake in Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL) by 105.3% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 39,018 shares of the transportation company’s stock after acquiring an additional 20,012 shares during the quarter. Bessemer Group Inc.’s holdings in Delta Air Lines were worth $2,595,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Lloyd Advisory Services LLC. acquired a new position in Delta Air Lines during the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. SWAN Capital LLC boosted its position in Delta Air Lines by 1,016.0% in the third quarter. SWAN Capital LLC now owns 558 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 508 shares in the last quarter. Camelot Portfolios LLC acquired a new stake in Delta Air Lines in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC boosted its position in Delta Air Lines by 451.6% in the fourth quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 524 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 429 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Byrne Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Delta Air Lines during the fourth quarter worth $35,000. 69.93% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Delta Air Lines Stock Up 0.1%

NYSE:DAL opened at $84.61 on Wednesday. Delta Air Lines, Inc. has a one year low of $50.44 and a one year high of $95.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 0.42 and a quick ratio of 0.35. The company has a market cap of $55.64 billion, a PE ratio of 14.03, a P/E/G ratio of 1.04 and a beta of 1.29. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $83.04 and its 200 day simple moving average is $73.29.

Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 9th. The transportation company reported $1.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.49 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $17.67 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $17.43 billion. Delta Air Lines had a net margin of 5.79% and a return on equity of 17.52%. The company’s revenue was up 18.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.10 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Delta Air Lines, Inc. will post 6.66 earnings per share for the current year.

Delta Air Lines Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 30th. Investors of record on Thursday, July 9th will be given a dividend of $0.215 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 9th. This represents a $0.86 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.0%. This is an increase from Delta Air Lines’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.19. Delta Air Lines’s dividend payout ratio is 14.26%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Delta Air Lines

In other news, EVP Alain Bellemare sold 25,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $81.44, for a total value of $2,036,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 95,025 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,738,836. This represents a 20.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Allison C. Ausband sold 9,710 shares of Delta Air Lines stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $76.00, for a total value of $737,960.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 138,854 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,552,904. This represents a 6.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 65,331 shares of company stock valued at $5,036,638. 0.80% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

DAL has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Seaport Research Partners upped their price target on shares of Delta Air Lines from $81.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 9th. Cantor Fitzgerald set a $112.00 price target on Delta Air Lines in a research note on Tuesday, July 14th. Argus set a $105.00 price objective on Delta Air Lines in a report on Tuesday, July 14th. BNP Paribas Exane reduced their price objective on Delta Air Lines from $85.00 to $81.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Delta Air Lines from $115.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, July 10th. Twenty-three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $100.40.

About Delta Air Lines

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.