Conning Inc. Buys Shares of 3,758 Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL)

Conning Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 3,758 shares of the transportation company’s stock, valued at approximately $227,000.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Generate Investment Management Ltd boosted its stake in Delta Air Lines by 33.2% in the 4th quarter. Generate Investment Management Ltd now owns 272,281 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $16,473,000 after purchasing an additional 67,802 shares during the period. Lecap Asset Management Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Delta Air Lines in the fourth quarter valued at about $702,000. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd lifted its holdings in shares of Delta Air Lines by 6.4% in the fourth quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd now owns 27,298 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $1,652,000 after purchasing an additional 1,653 shares in the last quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC acquired a new position in shares of Delta Air Lines during the fourth quarter worth about $6,781,000. Finally, Rik Saylor Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of Delta Air Lines during the fourth quarter worth about $336,000. Institutional investors own 69.93% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Delta Air Lines

In other Delta Air Lines news, EVP Rahul D. Samant sold 17,970 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.08, for a total transaction of $1,241,367.60. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 35,889 shares in the company, valued at $2,479,212.12. This trade represents a 33.36 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Edward H. Bastian sold 91,710 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 439,819 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $30,721,357.15. The trade was a 17.25 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 124,863 shares of company stock valued at $8,649,150 in the last three months. 0.96% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

DAL has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Barclays upped their price target on Delta Air Lines from $60.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on shares of Delta Air Lines from $58.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, November 11th. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Delta Air Lines from $65.00 to $76.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Delta Air Lines from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, Susquehanna lifted their target price on Delta Air Lines from $59.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $78.22.

Delta Air Lines Stock Performance

DAL opened at $68.14 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 0.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92. The stock has a market cap of $43.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.78, a PEG ratio of 0.80 and a beta of 1.36. Delta Air Lines, Inc. has a 12-month low of $37.29 and a 12-month high of $69.98. The business has a 50 day moving average of $64.01 and a 200-day moving average of $54.85.

Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 10th. The transportation company reported $1.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.76 by $0.09. Delta Air Lines had a return on equity of 30.43% and a net margin of 5.61%. The business had revenue of $15.56 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.20 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.28 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 9.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts expect that Delta Air Lines, Inc. will post 7.63 earnings per share for the current year.

Delta Air Lines Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 20th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 27th will be paid a $0.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 27th. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.88%. Delta Air Lines’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 11.26%.

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.