Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL) Shares Sold by Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC

Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC lessened its stake in Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL) by 9.2% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 2,812,899 shares of the transportation company’s stock after selling 284,379 shares during the quarter. Delta Air Lines comprises approximately 1.2% of Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 14th biggest position. Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Delta Air Lines were worth $170,180,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Boston Partners acquired a new stake in shares of Delta Air Lines in the 4th quarter worth $328,398,000. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Delta Air Lines in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $152,342,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in Delta Air Lines during the fourth quarter worth $64,577,000. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Delta Air Lines by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 72,410,242 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $4,380,820,000 after acquiring an additional 456,465 shares during the period. Finally, Retirement Systems of Alabama boosted its stake in shares of Delta Air Lines by 325.7% in the fourth quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama now owns 592,808 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $35,865,000 after purchasing an additional 453,547 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 69.93% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Delta Air Lines

In related news, SVP William C. Carroll sold 8,400 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.02, for a total transaction of $554,568.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 19,756 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,304,291.12. This trade represents a 29.83 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Edward H. Bastian sold 91,710 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.85, for a total transaction of $6,405,943.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 439,819 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $30,721,357.15. This represents a 17.25 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 162,886 shares of company stock valued at $11,116,463 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.96% of the company’s stock.

Delta Air Lines Stock Down 5.1 %

DAL stock opened at $43.80 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 0.37 and a quick ratio of 0.32. The firm has a market cap of $28.31 billion, a PE ratio of 8.22, a P/E/G ratio of 0.75 and a beta of 1.34. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $58.94 and a 200 day simple moving average of $58.29. Delta Air Lines, Inc. has a 12 month low of $37.29 and a 12 month high of $69.98.

Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 10th. The transportation company reported $1.85 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.76 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $15.56 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.20 billion. Delta Air Lines had a return on equity of 30.41% and a net margin of 5.61%. Delta Air Lines’s quarterly revenue was up 9.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.28 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Delta Air Lines, Inc. will post 7.63 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Delta Air Lines Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 20th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 27th were given a $0.15 dividend. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.37%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 27th. Delta Air Lines’s payout ratio is currently 11.26%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

DAL has been the subject of several analyst reports. TD Cowen boosted their target price on Delta Air Lines from $78.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 13th. StockNews.com lowered Delta Air Lines from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 25th. Susquehanna upped their price target on Delta Air Lines from $59.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Barclays reduced their target price on Delta Air Lines from $90.00 to $80.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, Citigroup dropped their price objective on Delta Air Lines from $80.00 to $72.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, March 18th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $76.29.

About Delta Air Lines

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.