Howard Capital Management Inc. Grows Stock Holdings in Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL)

Howard Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL) by 0.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 88,869 shares of the transportation company’s stock after buying an additional 193 shares during the quarter. Howard Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Delta Air Lines were worth $5,377,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of DAL. Pzena Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Delta Air Lines during the third quarter worth approximately $281,206,000. Castle Hook Partners LP acquired a new position in shares of Delta Air Lines during the third quarter worth $189,296,000. Sanders Capital LLC raised its holdings in Delta Air Lines by 2.8% in the third quarter. Sanders Capital LLC now owns 27,841,592 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $1,414,074,000 after acquiring an additional 749,099 shares in the last quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC raised its holdings in Delta Air Lines by 419.5% in the third quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 562,129 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $28,551,000 after acquiring an additional 453,926 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Retirement Systems of Alabama raised its holdings in 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 acquiring an additional 453,547 shares in the last quarter. 69.93% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Delta Air Lines

In other Delta Air Lines news, EVP Rahul D. Samant sold 38,023 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.89, for a total value of $2,467,312.47. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 52,789 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,425,478.21. This represents a 41.87 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP William C. Carroll sold 6,783 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.94, for a total transaction of $447,271.02. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 10,016 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $660,455.04. The trade was a 40.38 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 162,886 shares of company stock worth $11,116,463 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.96% of the company’s stock.

Delta Air Lines Stock Performance

Shares of DAL opened at $59.88 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $64.27 and a 200 day moving average price of $56.44. The firm has a market capitalization of $38.71 billion, a PE ratio of 11.23, a P/E/G ratio of 0.75 and a beta of 1.36. The company has a quick ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 0.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92. Delta Air Lines, Inc. has a 52-week low of $37.29 and a 52-week high of $69.98.

Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL) last announced its earnings results on Friday, January 10th. The transportation company reported $1.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.76 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $15.56 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.20 billion. Delta Air Lines had a net margin of 5.61% and a return on equity of 30.41%. Delta Air Lines’s revenue was up 9.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.28 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Delta Air Lines, Inc. will post 7.63 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Delta Air Lines Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 20th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 27th will be given a $0.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 27th. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.00%. Delta Air Lines’s dividend payout ratio is presently 11.26%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently issued reports on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $83.00 price target on shares of Delta Air Lines in a report on Friday, November 15th. UBS Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $88.00 price target on shares of Delta Air Lines in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Delta Air Lines from $60.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, November 14th. Susquehanna upped their price target on shares of Delta Air Lines from $59.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on shares of Delta Air Lines from $58.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 11th. Fourteen analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $78.22.

Delta Air Lines Company Profile

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.