Primecap Management Co. CA Cuts Stake in Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV)

Primecap Management Co. CA lowered its stake in shares of Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV) by 1.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 48,900,053 shares of the airline’s stock after selling 769,471 shares during the period. Southwest Airlines makes up approximately 1.3% of Primecap Management Co. CA’s holdings, making the stock its 22nd biggest position. Primecap Management Co. CA owned approximately 8.15% of Southwest Airlines worth $1,644,020,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Kestra Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Southwest Airlines during the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. increased its position in Southwest Airlines by 186.7% during the fourth quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 883 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 575 shares during the last quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC boosted its stake in shares of Southwest Airlines by 41.1% during the third quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 1,184 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 345 shares during the period. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Southwest Airlines by 90.0% during the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,642 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $55,000 after purchasing an additional 778 shares during the period. Finally, MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB lifted its stake in Southwest Airlines by 34.1% in the fourth quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 1,770 shares of the airline’s stock worth $60,000 after acquiring an additional 450 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 80.82% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director C. David Cush purchased 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 12th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $30.03 per share, for a total transaction of $150,150.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 19,011 shares in the company, valued at $570,900.33. This trade represents a 35.69 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.33% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have commented on LUV shares. Susquehanna decreased their price target on shares of Southwest Airlines from $38.00 to $34.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reiterated an “underweight” rating and issued a $25.00 price target on shares of Southwest Airlines in a report on Monday, March 3rd. Citigroup restated a “sell” rating and issued a $29.50 price objective (down previously from $31.50) on shares of Southwest Airlines in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Raymond James increased their target price on Southwest Airlines from $36.00 to $40.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, December 30th. Finally, Argus upgraded Southwest Airlines from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $35.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Southwest Airlines presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $31.72.

Southwest Airlines Stock Up 1.3 %

LUV opened at $32.14 on Tuesday. Southwest Airlines Co. has a 12 month low of $23.58 and a 12 month high of $36.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a current ratio of 0.92 and a quick ratio of 0.85. The stock has a market cap of $19.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 44.64, a P/E/G ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 1.10. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $31.09 and its 200 day moving average price is $31.27.

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The airline reported $0.56 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.45 by $0.11. Southwest Airlines had a return on equity of 5.77% and a net margin of 1.69%. As a group, research analysts predict that Southwest Airlines Co. will post 1.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Southwest Airlines Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 2nd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 12th will be given a dividend of $0.18 per share. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.24%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 12th. Southwest Airlines’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 100.00%.

Southwest Airlines Company Profile

Southwest Airlines Co operates as a passenger airline company that provides scheduled air transportation services in the United States and near-international markets. As of December 31, 2023, the company operated a total fleet of 817 Boeing 737 aircraft; and served 121 destinations in 42 states, the District of Columbia, and the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, as well as ten near-international countries, including Mexico, Jamaica, the Bahamas, Aruba, the Dominican Republic, Costa Rica, Belize, Cuba, the Cayman Islands, and Turks and Caicos.