Sanders Capital LLC Boosts Stock Position in Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL)

Sanders Capital LLC increased its stake in Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL) by 2.8% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 27,841,592 shares of the transportation company’s stock after purchasing an additional 749,099 shares during the quarter. Delta Air Lines comprises about 2.0% of Sanders Capital LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 15th largest position. Sanders Capital LLC owned 4.31% of Delta Air Lines worth $1,414,074,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Avestar Capital LLC increased its holdings in shares of Delta Air Lines by 64.7% in the third quarter. Avestar Capital LLC now owns 7,024 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $357,000 after purchasing an additional 2,758 shares during the period. Brooklyn Investment Group bought a new position in Delta Air Lines in the 3rd quarter worth about $102,000. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company raised its holdings in shares of Delta Air Lines by 3.2% in the 3rd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 404,638 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $20,552,000 after acquiring an additional 12,450 shares in the last quarter. Qsemble Capital Management LP bought a new stake in shares of Delta Air Lines during the 3rd quarter valued at about $777,000. Finally, Horizon Kinetics Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Delta Air Lines during the third quarter worth about $234,000. 69.93% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Delta Air Lines Trading Up 0.9 %

Shares of DAL stock opened at $65.05 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.05, a current ratio of 0.39 and a quick ratio of 0.34. The business has a 50-day moving average of $55.40 and a 200 day moving average of $49.19. The stock has a market capitalization of $41.98 billion, a PE ratio of 8.96, a P/E/G ratio of 1.20 and a beta of 1.33. Delta Air Lines, Inc. has a 1-year low of $35.46 and a 1-year high of $66.25.

Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 10th. The transportation company reported $1.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.52 by ($0.02). Delta Air Lines had a return on equity of 29.93% and a net margin of 7.71%. The firm had revenue of $15.68 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.65 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.03 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Delta Air Lines, Inc. will post 6.07 earnings per share for the current year.

Delta Air Lines Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 31st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 10th were paid a dividend of $0.15 per share. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.92%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, October 10th. Delta Air Lines’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 8.33%.

Insider Activity

In other Delta Air Lines news, EVP Joanne D. Smith sold 3,431 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, October 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.46, for a total transaction of $173,128.26. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 108,990 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,499,635.40. The trade was a 3.05 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Edward H. Bastian sold 68,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $56.33, for a total transaction of $3,830,440.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 439,819 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $24,775,004.27. This represents a 13.39 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 140,240 shares of company stock valued at $8,044,893. Insiders own 0.96% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their target price on shares of Delta Air Lines from $60.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. BNP Paribas raised shares of Delta Air Lines to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, September 19th. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $83.00 target price on shares of Delta Air Lines in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Barclays lifted their price target on Delta Air Lines from $60.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 14th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on Delta Air Lines from $58.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, November 11th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $74.98.

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.