Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL) Shares Bought by Hartford Funds Management Co LLC

Hartford Funds Management Co LLC raised its holdings in Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL) by 27.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 24,931 shares of the transportation company’s stock after buying an additional 5,444 shares during the period. Delta Air Lines comprises about 0.1% of Hartford Funds Management Co LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 23rd largest position. Hartford Funds Management Co LLC’s holdings in Delta Air Lines were worth $1,508,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of DAL. Pzena Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Delta Air Lines in the third quarter valued at $281,206,000. Castle Hook Partners LP acquired a new stake in Delta Air Lines in the third quarter valued at $189,296,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Delta Air Lines during the fourth quarter worth about $64,577,000. Sanders Capital LLC grew its holdings in shares of Delta Air Lines by 2.8% during the third quarter. Sanders Capital LLC now owns 27,841,592 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $1,414,074,000 after purchasing an additional 749,099 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Retirement Systems of Alabama grew its holdings in shares of Delta Air Lines by 325.7% during the fourth quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama now owns 592,808 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $35,865,000 after purchasing an additional 453,547 shares during the last quarter. 69.93% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Delta Air Lines Price Performance

Shares of DAL opened at $54.89 on Friday. Delta Air Lines, Inc. has a twelve month low of $37.29 and a twelve month high of $69.98. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $63.84 and its two-hundred day moving average is $57.55. The firm has a market capitalization of $35.48 billion, a PE ratio of 10.30, a P/E/G ratio of 0.75 and a beta of 1.34. The company has a current ratio of 0.37, a quick ratio of 0.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92.

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

Delta Air Lines Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 20th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 27th will be given a dividend of $0.15 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 27th. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.09%. Delta Air Lines’s payout ratio is 11.26%.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP William C. Carroll sold 8,400 shares of Delta Air Lines stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 17th. The shares were 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 directly owns 19,756 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,304,291.12. This trade represents a 29.83 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Rahul D. Samant sold 17,970 shares of Delta Air Lines stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.08, for a total transaction of $1,241,367.60. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 35,889 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,479,212.12. The trade was a 33.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 162,886 shares of company stock worth $11,116,463. Company insiders own 0.96% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have issued reports on the company. Barclays raised their price objective on Delta Air Lines from $60.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, November 14th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price objective on Delta Air Lines from $60.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, November 21st. TD Cowen raised their price objective on Delta Air Lines from $78.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 13th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on Delta Air Lines from $58.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 11th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “buy” rating and set a $83.00 price target on shares of Delta Air Lines in a report on Friday, November 15th. Fourteen analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $78.22.

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.