Korea Investment CORP Cuts Stake in Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL)

Korea Investment CORP cut its position in Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL) by 31.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 82,486 shares of the transportation company’s stock after selling 37,491 shares during the period. Korea Investment CORP’s holdings in Delta Air Lines were worth $4,990,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in DAL. WASHINGTON TRUST Co lifted its position in Delta Air Lines by 7.5% in the 4th quarter. WASHINGTON TRUST Co now owns 2,150 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $130,000 after acquiring an additional 150 shares in the last quarter. Hemington Wealth Management lifted its holdings in shares of Delta Air Lines by 48.1% during the fourth quarter. Hemington Wealth Management now owns 474 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 154 shares in the last quarter. Mason & Associates Inc boosted its position in shares of Delta Air Lines by 3.2% during the fourth quarter. Mason & Associates Inc now owns 5,088 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $308,000 after buying an additional 160 shares during the last quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC increased its holdings in Delta Air Lines by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC now owns 14,298 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $865,000 after buying an additional 173 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. raised its position in Delta Air Lines by 10.6% in the 4th quarter. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. now owns 1,820 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $110,000 after buying an additional 175 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 69.93% of the company’s stock.

Delta Air Lines Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:DAL opened at $43.62 on Tuesday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $58.50 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $58.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 0.37 and a quick ratio of 0.32. The company has a market capitalization of $28.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.18, a P/E/G ratio of 0.75 and a beta of 1.34. Delta Air Lines, Inc. has a 1-year low of $37.29 and a 1-year high of $69.98.

Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL) last issued its earnings results on Friday, January 10th. The transportation company reported $1.85 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.76 by $0.09. Delta Air Lines had a net margin of 5.61% and a return on equity of 30.41%. The company had revenue of $15.56 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.20 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.28 EPS. Delta Air Lines’s quarterly revenue was up 9.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that Delta Air Lines, Inc. will post 7.63 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Delta Air Lines Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 20th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 27th were given a dividend of $0.15 per share. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.38%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 27th. Delta Air Lines’s dividend payout ratio is currently 11.26%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. UBS Group dropped their price target on shares of Delta Air Lines from $90.00 to $77.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Citigroup cut their target price on shares of Delta Air Lines from $80.00 to $72.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, March 18th. Susquehanna boosted their target price on shares of Delta Air Lines from $59.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Barclays cut their price objective on Delta Air Lines from $90.00 to $80.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Delta Air Lines from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 25th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $76.29.

Insider Activity at Delta Air Lines

In related news, CEO Edward H. Bastian sold 91,710 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.85, for a total transaction of $6,405,943.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 439,819 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $30,721,357.15. This trade represents a 17.25 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP William C. Carroll sold 8,400 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $66.02, for a total transaction of $554,568.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 19,756 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,304,291.12. The trade was a 29.83 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 162,886 shares of company stock valued at $11,116,463. 0.96% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.