Soltis Investment Advisors LLC Sells 1,327 Shares of Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL)

Soltis Investment Advisors LLC lessened its holdings in shares of Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL) by 12.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 9,726 shares of the transportation company’s stock after selling 1,327 shares during the period. Soltis Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in Delta Air Lines were worth $588,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in DAL. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Delta Air Lines by 5.4% during the 3rd quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. now owns 268,636 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $13,644,000 after buying an additional 13,802 shares during the period. KBC Group NV boosted its holdings in shares of Delta Air Lines by 143.7% in the third quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 56,611 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $2,876,000 after purchasing an additional 33,378 shares during the period. Olstein Capital Management L.P. boosted its holdings in shares of Delta Air Lines by 32.6% in the third quarter. Olstein Capital Management L.P. now owns 175,000 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $8,888,000 after purchasing an additional 43,000 shares during the period. Donoghue Forlines LLC bought a new position in Delta Air Lines in the fourth quarter worth approximately $2,036,000. Finally, River Road Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of Delta Air Lines by 22.8% during the third quarter. River Road Asset Management LLC now owns 130,608 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $6,634,000 after purchasing an additional 24,249 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 69.93% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Delta Air Lines

In other news, SVP William C. Carroll sold 6,783 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.94, for a total transaction of $447,271.02. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 10,016 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $660,455.04. This trade represents a 40.38 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Edward H. Bastian sold 91,710 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.85, for a total transaction of $6,405,943.50. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 439,819 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $30,721,357.15. This represents a 17.25 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 124,863 shares of company stock worth $8,649,150 in the last ninety days. 0.96% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Delta Air Lines Price Performance

Shares of DAL stock opened at $66.20 on Tuesday. Delta Air Lines, Inc. has a twelve month low of $37.29 and a twelve month high of $69.98. The company has a current ratio of 0.37, a quick ratio of 0.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92. The company has a market capitalization of $42.72 billion, a PE ratio of 12.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.80 and a beta of 1.36. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $64.01 and a 200-day simple moving average of $54.93.

Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 10th. The transportation company reported $1.85 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.76 by $0.09. Delta Air Lines had a net margin of 5.61% and a return on equity of 30.43%. The business had revenue of $15.56 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.20 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.28 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Delta Air Lines, Inc. will post 7.63 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Delta Air Lines Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 20th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 27th will be paid a $0.15 dividend. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.91%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 27th. Delta Air Lines’s payout ratio is 11.26%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have commented on the stock. StockNews.com lowered shares of Delta Air Lines from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. UBS Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $88.00 price objective on shares of Delta Air Lines in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of Delta Air Lines from $65.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price target on shares of Delta Air Lines from $60.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Finally, TD Cowen lifted their target price on shares of Delta Air Lines from $78.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 13th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target 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.