Great Lakes Advisors LLC Has $119.19 Million Stake in Delta Air Lines, Inc. $DAL

Great Lakes Advisors LLC decreased its position in Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL) by 0.9% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 1,717,488 shares of the transportation company’s stock after selling 14,732 shares during the period. Great Lakes Advisors LLC’s holdings in Delta Air Lines were worth $119,194,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Aviva PLC lifted its holdings in Delta Air Lines by 7.5% in the fourth quarter. Aviva PLC now owns 139,781 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $9,701,000 after buying an additional 9,791 shares during the period. Banco BTG Pactual S.A. acquired a new position in Delta Air Lines in the fourth quarter valued at $257,000. Investment Research Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Delta Air Lines by 10.5% in the fourth quarter. Investment Research Partners LLC now owns 5,553 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $385,000 after buying an additional 526 shares during the period. Caerus Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Delta Air Lines in the fourth quarter valued at $516,000. Finally, Glaxis Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Delta Air Lines by 150.0% in the fourth quarter. Glaxis Capital Management LLC now owns 10,000 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $694,000 after buying an additional 6,000 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 69.93% of the company’s stock.

Delta Air Lines Price Performance

Shares of NYSE DAL opened at $81.91 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $72.72 and its 200-day moving average price is $69.44. Delta Air Lines, Inc. has a 1-year low of $45.28 and a 1-year high of $83.83. The firm has a market capitalization of $53.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.94, a P/E/G ratio of 1.08 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a current ratio of 0.42, a quick ratio of 0.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54.

Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 8th. The transportation company reported $0.64 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.61 by $0.03. Delta Air Lines had a net margin of 6.87% and a return on equity of 20.28%. The firm had revenue of $14.20 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.05 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.46 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 9.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Delta Air Lines, Inc. will post 5.37 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Delta Air Lines Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 4th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 14th were issued a $0.1875 dividend. This represents a $0.75 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 14th. Delta Air Lines’s dividend payout ratio is currently 10.93%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Alain Bellemare sold 25,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $81.44, for a total value of $2,036,000.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 95,025 shares in the company, valued at $7,738,836. This represents a 20.83% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Allison C. Ausband sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $79.00, for a total transaction of $395,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 133,854 shares in the company, valued at $10,574,466. This represents a 3.60% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 149,635 shares of company stock worth $10,833,855 in the last quarter. Insiders own 0.80% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. BNP Paribas Exane dropped their target price on shares of Delta Air Lines from $85.00 to $81.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. Susquehanna decreased their price target on shares of Delta Air Lines from $81.00 to $78.00 and set a “positive” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 9th. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Delta Air Lines from $95.00 to $98.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 26th. Raymond James Financial upped their price objective on shares of Delta Air Lines from $76.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 9th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of Delta Air Lines from $87.00 to $75.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, March 16th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-three have issued a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Delta Air Lines presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $80.85.

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.