Cetera Investment Advisers Purchases 51,483 Shares of Delta Air Lines, Inc. $DAL

Cetera Investment Advisers grew its position in Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL) by 21.8% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 288,067 shares of the transportation company’s stock after buying an additional 51,483 shares during the period. Cetera Investment Advisers’ holdings in Delta Air Lines were worth $19,151,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. IFM Investors Pty Ltd boosted its stake in Delta Air Lines by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. IFM Investors Pty Ltd now owns 28,167 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $1,955,000 after purchasing an additional 144 shares during the last quarter. Utah Retirement Systems lifted its holdings in shares of Delta Air Lines by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Utah Retirement Systems now owns 52,620 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $3,652,000 after purchasing an additional 144 shares in the last quarter. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC boosted its position in shares of Delta Air Lines by 2.6% during the fourth quarter. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC now owns 6,022 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $454,000 after buying an additional 151 shares during the last quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC boosted its position in shares of Delta Air Lines by 2.4% during the fourth quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 6,472 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $449,000 after buying an additional 152 shares during the last quarter. Finally, LRI Investments LLC increased its holdings in Delta Air Lines by 3.4% in the 4th quarter. LRI Investments LLC now owns 4,644 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $322,000 after buying an additional 154 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 69.93% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Alain Bellemare sold 25,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 95,025 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,738,836. This trade represents a 20.83% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Allison C. Ausband sold 9,710 shares of Delta Air Lines stock in a transaction on Friday, May 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $76.00, for a total value of $737,960.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 138,854 shares in the company, valued at $10,552,904. This trade 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 sold 65,331 shares of company stock worth $5,036,638. 0.80% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Delta Air Lines Price Performance

NYSE DAL opened at $86.64 on Tuesday. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $84.13 and a 200-day moving average price of $73.68. Delta Air Lines, Inc. has a 52 week low of $50.44 and a 52 week high of $95.68. The company has a quick ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 0.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48. The firm has a market capitalization of $56.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.37, a PEG ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 1.29.

Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 9th. The transportation company reported $1.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.49 by $0.07. Delta Air Lines had a net margin of 5.79% and a return on equity of 17.52%. The company had revenue of $17.67 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $17.43 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.10 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 18.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Delta Air Lines, Inc. will post 6.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Delta Air Lines Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 30th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 9th will be paid a $0.215 dividend. This is a positive change from Delta Air Lines’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.19. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 9th. This represents a $0.86 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.0%. Delta Air Lines’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 14.26%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on DAL shares. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Delta Air Lines from $115.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, July 10th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Delta Air Lines from $75.00 to $105.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 30th. Susquehanna lifted their price target on shares of Delta Air Lines from $78.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 7th. Wolfe Research decreased their price objective on shares of Delta Air Lines from $81.00 to $73.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 7th. Finally, Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Delta Air Lines from $85.00 to $105.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 25th. Twenty-three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus 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.