Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC Sells 3,845 Shares of Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL)

Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC lessened its holdings in Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL) by 32.9% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 7,847 shares of the transportation company’s stock after selling 3,845 shares during the quarter. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC’s holdings in Delta Air Lines were worth $376,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in DAL. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its stake in shares of Delta Air Lines by 220.2% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 8,600,741 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $346,008,000 after buying an additional 5,914,301 shares during the last quarter. Capital International Investors grew its stake in Delta Air Lines by 8.8% in the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 20,936,699 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $842,283,000 after purchasing an additional 1,689,053 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Delta Air Lines during the 4th quarter worth approximately $65,056,000. Jennison Associates LLC raised its stake in shares of Delta Air Lines by 145.2% during the 4th quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 2,618,627 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $105,347,000 after purchasing an additional 1,550,770 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Royal London Asset Management Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Delta Air Lines by 27.0% in the 4th quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. now owns 6,467,749 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $260,198,000 after buying an additional 1,376,221 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 69.93% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have issued reports on DAL shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price target on shares of Delta Air Lines from $50.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Bank of America raised their target price on shares of Delta Air Lines from $53.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Susquehanna boosted their price target on Delta Air Lines from $47.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 9th. HSBC initiated coverage on Delta Air Lines in a research report on Monday, May 13th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $72.80 price objective for the company. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group decreased their target price on Delta Air Lines from $58.00 to $56.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $60.25.

Delta Air Lines Stock Performance

NYSE DAL opened at $47.44 on Monday. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $50.63 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $45.20. Delta Air Lines, Inc. has a 12-month low of $30.60 and a 12-month high of $53.86. The company has a market capitalization of $30.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.10, a P/E/G ratio of 0.70 and a beta of 1.37. The company has a quick ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 0.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.48.

Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 11th. The transportation company reported $0.45 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.36 by $0.09. Delta Air Lines had a return on equity of 41.89% and a net margin of 8.48%. The business had revenue of $13.75 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $12.51 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.25 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that Delta Air Lines, Inc. will post 6.61 earnings per share for the current year.

Delta Air Lines Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, August 20th. Investors of record on Tuesday, July 30th will be given a $0.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, July 30th. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.26%. This is a boost from Delta Air Lines’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.10. Delta Air Lines’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 5.14%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Delta Air Lines news, President Glen W. Hauenstein sold 100,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $49.05, for a total transaction of $4,905,000.00. Following the sale, the president now directly owns 217,584 shares in the company, valued at $10,672,495.20. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In related news, EVP Joanne D. Smith sold 4,846 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $52.30, for a total transaction of $253,445.80. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 112,421 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,879,618.30. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, President Glen W. Hauenstein sold 100,000 shares of Delta Air Lines stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $49.05, for a total value of $4,905,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the president now owns 217,584 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,672,495.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 178,919 shares of company stock worth $8,834,653. Company insiders own 0.96% of the company’s stock.

Delta Air Lines 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.