Alaska Air Group, Inc. (NYSE:ALK) Shares Bought by Vanguard Group Inc.

Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Alaska Air Group, Inc. (NYSE:ALK) by 0.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 13,651,876 shares of the transportation company’s stock after purchasing an additional 56,409 shares during the quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. owned about 10.75% of Alaska Air Group worth $883,959,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in ALK. Hennessy Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in Alaska Air Group during the fourth quarter worth about $82,459,000. Wellington Management Group LLP acquired a new stake in shares of Alaska Air Group during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $26,390,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Alaska Air Group during the 4th quarter worth approximately $24,241,000. FMR LLC grew its holdings in shares of Alaska Air Group by 32.4% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,084,639 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $49,037,000 after acquiring an additional 265,343 shares during the period. Finally, Boston Partners increased its stake in Alaska Air Group by 6.9% in the 4th quarter. Boston Partners now owns 3,460,959 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $224,121,000 after purchasing an additional 222,780 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.90% of the company’s stock.

Alaska Air Group Price Performance

ALK stock opened at $50.16 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.43 and a beta of 1.50. The company has a quick ratio of 0.58, a current ratio of 0.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04. Alaska Air Group, Inc. has a 52-week low of $32.62 and a 52-week high of $78.08. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $66.07 and its 200-day simple moving average is $57.55.

Alaska Air Group (NYSE:ALK) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The transportation company reported $0.97 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.45 by $0.52. Alaska Air Group had a return on equity of 14.66% and a net margin of 3.37%. Equities research analysts expect that Alaska Air Group, Inc. will post 6.03 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Andrew R. Harrison sold 91,745 shares of Alaska Air Group stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.14, for a total value of $6,526,739.30. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 20,638 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,468,187.32. The trade was a 81.64 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Joseph A. Sprague sold 9,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $68.90, for a total value of $654,550.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 9,840 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $677,976. The trade was a 49.12 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 154,725 shares of company stock valued at $11,217,263. Insiders own 0.68% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have commented on ALK. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Alaska Air Group from $85.00 to $89.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. Susquehanna upgraded shares of Alaska Air Group from a “neutral” rating to a “positive” rating and set a $95.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Alaska Air Group from $70.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on shares of Alaska Air Group from $70.00 to $79.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, Citigroup dropped their price objective on shares of Alaska Air Group from $83.00 to $81.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, March 18th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $77.00.

Alaska Air Group Company Profile

Alaska Air Group, Inc, through its subsidiaries, operates airlines. It operates through three segments: Mainline, Regional, and Horizon. The company offers scheduled air transportation services on Boeing jet aircraft for passengers and cargo in the United States, and in parts of Canada, Mexico, Costa Rica, Belize, Guatemala, and the Bahamas; and for passengers across a shorter distance network within the United States, Canada, and Mexico.