Artisan Partners Limited Partnership Sells 10,200 Shares of Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV)

Artisan Partners Limited Partnership lessened its position in shares of Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV) by 0.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 10,901,974 shares of the airline’s stock after selling 10,200 shares during the period. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership’s holdings in Southwest Airlines were worth $366,524,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Kestra Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Southwest Airlines in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in Southwest Airlines by 186.7% in the 4th quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 883 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 575 shares during the last quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in Southwest Airlines by 41.1% during the 3rd quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 1,184 shares of the airline’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 345 shares during the last quarter. VSM Wealth Advisory LLC bought a new stake in shares of Southwest Airlines in the fourth quarter valued at about $42,000. Finally, Millstone Evans Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Southwest Airlines during the fourth quarter worth approximately $53,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.82% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently issued reports on LUV shares. Bank of America reiterated an “underperform” rating and set a $31.00 price target (down previously from $33.00) on shares of Southwest Airlines in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Sanford C. Bernstein upped their price target on shares of Southwest Airlines from $30.00 to $33.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Melius raised shares of Southwest Airlines from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Susquehanna dropped their price objective on shares of Southwest Airlines from $38.00 to $34.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, Melius Research raised Southwest Airlines from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $28.00 to $34.00 in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $32.52.

Insider Transactions at Southwest Airlines

In other news, Director C. David Cush bought 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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 acquisition, the director now directly owns 19,011 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $570,900.33. This trade represents a 35.69 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Southwest Airlines Stock Performance

LUV opened at $34.38 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $20.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 47.75, a PEG ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 1.10. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $31.27 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $31.48. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49. Southwest Airlines Co. has a 52-week low of $23.58 and a 52-week high of $36.12.

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The airline reported $0.56 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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%. Equities analysts anticipate that Southwest Airlines Co. will post 1.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Southwest Airlines Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 2nd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 12th will be paid a $0.18 dividend. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.09%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 12th. Southwest Airlines’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 100.00%.

About Southwest Airlines

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.