D.A. Davidson & CO. Trims Stock Position in Alaska Air Group, Inc. (NYSE:ALK)

D.A. Davidson & CO. cut its stake in shares of Alaska Air Group, Inc. (NYSE:ALK - Free Report) by 10.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 192,994 shares of the transportation company's stock after selling 21,735 shares during the quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. owned approximately 0.15% of Alaska Air Group worth $12,496,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. FMR LLC boosted its stake in Alaska Air Group by 32.4% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,084,639 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $49,037,000 after acquiring an additional 265,343 shares in the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can boosted its stake in Alaska Air Group by 54.7% during the third quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 57,577 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $2,591,000 after acquiring an additional 20,347 shares in the last quarter. Friedenthal Financial bought a new position in shares of Alaska Air Group in the fourth quarter valued at $772,000. Entropy Technologies LP lifted its stake in shares of Alaska Air Group by 358.9% in the third quarter. Entropy Technologies LP now owns 27,428 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $1,240,000 after buying an additional 21,451 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quantbot Technologies LP lifted its stake in shares of Alaska Air Group by 156.3% in the third quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP now owns 83,777 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $3,788,000 after buying an additional 51,096 shares in the last quarter. 81.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Alaska Air Group Price Performance

Shares of ALK stock traded down $5.39 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $69.97. The stock had a trading volume of 3,760,134 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,785,302. Alaska Air Group, Inc. has a 12 month low of $32.62 and a 12 month high of $78.08. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.61 billion, a PE ratio of 22.94, a PEG ratio of 0.69 and a beta of 1.55. The company has a current ratio of 0.61, a quick ratio of 0.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $69.11 and its 200 day simple moving average is $53.04.

Alaska Air Group (NYSE:ALK - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The transportation company reported $0.97 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.45 by $0.52. Alaska Air Group had a net margin of 3.37% and a return on equity of 14.66%. On average, equities research analysts predict that Alaska Air Group, Inc. will post 6.03 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Alaska Air Group news, CFO Shane R. Tackett sold 5,000 shares of Alaska Air Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.56, for a total transaction of $317,800.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 27,362 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,739,128.72. This trade represents a 15.45 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, COO Muehlen Constance E. Von sold 22,157 shares of Alaska Air Group stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.12, for a total transaction of $1,664,433.84. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 20,026 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,504,353.12. The trade was a 52.53 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 182,598 shares of company stock valued at $12,912,156. 0.68% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ALK has been the subject of several analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Alaska Air Group from $58.00 to $85.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Alaska Air Group from $81.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Melius upgraded shares of Alaska Air Group from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $56.00 target price for the company in a research report on Monday, October 28th. Susquehanna upgraded shares of Alaska Air Group from a "neutral" rating to a "positive" rating and set a $95.00 target price for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on shares of Alaska Air Group from $70.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $76.69.

Alaska Air Group Company Profile

Alaska Air Group, Inc, through its subsidiaries, operates airlines. It operates through three segments: Mainline, Regional, and Horizon. The company offers scheduled air transportation services on Boeing jet aircraft for passengers and cargo in the United States, and in parts of Canada, Mexico, Costa Rica, Belize, Guatemala, and the Bahamas; and for passengers across a shorter distance network within the United States, Canada, and Mexico.