Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. Boosts Stake in Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL)

Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL) by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,497,487 shares of the transportation company’s stock after acquiring an additional 10,332 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Delta Air Lines were worth $177,637,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of DAL. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in Delta Air Lines by 12.5% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 9,933,785 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $471,330,000 after purchasing an additional 1,105,674 shares in the last quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Delta Air Lines in the third quarter worth $281,206,000. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its stake in Delta Air Lines by 0.4% in the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 3,344,414 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $169,863,000 after acquiring an additional 14,624 shares during the last quarter. Silvercrest Asset Management Group LLC raised its position in Delta Air Lines by 17.0% during the first quarter. Silvercrest Asset Management Group LLC now owns 1,826,473 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $87,433,000 after purchasing an additional 265,886 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in Delta Air Lines by 28.9% during the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,595,203 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $81,020,000 after purchasing an additional 358,082 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 69.93% of the company’s stock.

Delta Air Lines Price Performance

DAL stock opened at $63.34 on Friday. The business has a 50 day moving average of $55.01 and a 200 day moving average of $49.13. The firm has a market cap of $40.87 billion, a PE ratio of 8.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.20 and a beta of 1.33. Delta Air Lines, Inc. has a twelve month low of $35.46 and a twelve month high of $66.25. The company has a quick ratio of 0.34, a current ratio of 0.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.05.

Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 10th. The transportation company reported $1.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.52 by ($0.02). Delta Air Lines had a return on equity of 29.93% and a net margin of 7.71%. The company had revenue of $15.68 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.65 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.03 EPS. Delta Air Lines’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts forecast that Delta Air Lines, Inc. will post 6.07 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Delta Air Lines Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 31st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 10th were issued a dividend of $0.15 per share. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.95%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, October 10th. Delta Air Lines’s payout ratio is 8.33%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on DAL. Sanford C. Bernstein raised their price objective on Delta Air Lines from $62.00 to $65.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Bank of America boosted their price objective on shares of Delta Air Lines from $55.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Delta Air Lines from $68.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, October 11th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their target price on Delta Air Lines from $60.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Delta Air Lines from $60.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, November 14th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Delta Air Lines currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $72.75.

Insider Activity at Delta Air Lines

In related news, EVP Joanne D. Smith sold 3,431 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.46, for a total transaction of $173,128.26. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 108,990 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,499,635.40. The trade was a 3.05 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Alain Bellemare sold 19,490 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.26, for a total transaction of $1,077,017.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 121,961 shares in the company, valued at $6,739,564.86. The trade was a 13.78 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 140,240 shares of company stock valued at $8,044,893 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.96% of the company’s stock.

About Delta Air Lines

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.