Carson Advisory Inc. Raises Stock Holdings in Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL)

Carson Advisory Inc. lifted its holdings in Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL) by 21.7% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 38,470 shares of the transportation company’s stock after buying an additional 6,852 shares during the quarter. Delta Air Lines comprises 1.2% of Carson Advisory Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 21st biggest holding. Carson Advisory Inc.’s holdings in Delta Air Lines were worth $1,548,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Delta Air Lines by 495.7% in the third quarter. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. now owns 685 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 570 shares during the period. Venturi Wealth Management LLC raised its position in Delta Air Lines by 396.6% during the 4th quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 720 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 575 shares in the last quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new position in shares of Delta Air Lines in the 3rd quarter worth $35,000. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. raised its position in shares of Delta Air Lines by 1,302.1% in the 3rd quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 1,318 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $49,000 after acquiring an additional 1,224 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV raised its position in shares of Delta Air Lines by 147.7% in the 4th quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 1,434 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $58,000 after acquiring an additional 855 shares in the last quarter. 69.93% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Delta Air Lines Trading Up 2.0 %

Shares of NYSE DAL traded up $1.01 during trading on Thursday, hitting $51.03. 8,187,326 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 10,835,305. Delta Air Lines, Inc. has a 1 year low of $30.60 and a 1 year high of $51.19. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $45.61 and a 200-day moving average price of $40.52. The firm has a market capitalization of $32.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.43, a P/E/G ratio of 0.74 and a beta of 1.38. 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 announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 11th. The transportation company reported $0.45 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.36 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $13.75 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $12.51 billion. Delta Air Lines had a net margin of 8.48% and a return on equity of 41.89%. The firm’s revenue was up 7.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.25 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Delta Air Lines, Inc. will post 6.55 EPS for the current year.

Delta Air Lines Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 4th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.10 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 13th. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.78%. Delta Air Lines’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 5.14%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently weighed in on DAL shares. StockNews.com downgraded Delta Air Lines from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 22nd. Bank of America boosted their price objective on Delta Air Lines from $53.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $85.00 price target on shares of Delta Air Lines in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Susquehanna increased their target price on Delta Air Lines from $47.00 to $54.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 9th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their target price on Delta Air Lines from $50.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Delta Air Lines has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $58.29.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Peter W. Carter sold 50,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.00, for a total value of $2,500,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 143,328 shares in the company, valued at $7,166,400. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other Delta Air Lines news, EVP Peter W. Carter sold 50,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.00, for a total value of $2,500,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 143,328 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,166,400. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Alain Bellemare sold 24,073 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.86, for a total transaction of $1,176,206.78. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 141,451 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,911,295.86. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 174,073 shares of company stock worth $8,581,207. Insiders own 0.89% of the company’s stock.

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.