Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV) Shares Sold by Artisan Partners Limited Partnership

Artisan Partners Limited Partnership cut its holdings in Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV - Free Report) by 0.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 10,901,974 shares of the airline's stock after selling 10,200 shares during the quarter. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership owned 1.82% of Southwest Airlines worth $366,524,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its holdings in Southwest Airlines by 11.0% during the 4th quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 662,243 shares of the airline's stock valued at $22,258,000 after buying an additional 65,403 shares in the last quarter. Korea Investment CORP raised its stake in shares of Southwest Airlines by 4,277.8% during the fourth quarter. Korea Investment CORP now owns 39,400 shares of the airline's stock valued at $1,325,000 after acquiring an additional 38,500 shares in the last quarter. CoreFirst Bank & Trust purchased a new stake in shares of Southwest Airlines in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $167,000. Sound Shore Management Inc. CT bought a new position in Southwest Airlines in the fourth quarter worth approximately $85,262,000. Finally, Hershey Financial Advisers LLC purchased a new position in Southwest Airlines during the 4th quarter worth $1,919,000. 80.82% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Southwest Airlines

In related news, Director C. David Cush acquired 5,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 12th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $30.03 per share, for a total transaction of $150,150.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 19,011 shares in the company, valued at $570,900.33. The trade was a 35.69 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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Southwest Airlines Price Performance

Shares of Southwest Airlines stock traded down $0.04 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $33.56. 4,057,091 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 10,726,702. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49. The business has a 50-day moving average of $31.33 and a 200 day moving average of $31.56. The stock has a market capitalization of $19.89 billion, a PE ratio of 46.60, a PEG ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 1.10. Southwest Airlines Co. has a fifty-two week low of $23.58 and a fifty-two week high of $36.12.

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The airline reported $0.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.45 by $0.11. Southwest Airlines had a net margin of 1.69% and a return on equity of 5.77%. On average, analysts predict that Southwest Airlines Co. will post 1.55 EPS for the current year.

Southwest Airlines Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 2nd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 12th will be issued a dividend of $0.18 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 12th. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.15%. Southwest Airlines's dividend payout ratio is presently 100.00%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently commented on LUV shares. TD Cowen raised their price target on Southwest Airlines from $25.00 to $28.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Raymond James boosted their price target on shares of Southwest Airlines from $36.00 to $40.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, December 30th. Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of Southwest Airlines from $27.00 to $30.00 and gave the company a "sell" rating in a research note on Friday. Melius raised shares of Southwest Airlines from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Finally, Bank of America reaffirmed an "underperform" rating and set a $31.00 target price (down previously from $33.00) on shares of Southwest Airlines in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $32.54.

About Southwest Airlines

Southwest Airlines Co operates as a passenger airline company that provides scheduled air transportation services in the United States and near-international markets. As of December 31, 2023, the company operated a total fleet of 817 Boeing 737 aircraft; and served 121 destinations in 42 states, the District of Columbia, and the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, as well as ten near-international countries, including Mexico, Jamaica, the Bahamas, Aruba, the Dominican Republic, Costa Rica, Belize, Cuba, the Cayman Islands, and Turks and Caicos.