Bessemer Group Inc. Sells 66,549 Shares of Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV)

Bessemer Group Inc. decreased its holdings in Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV - Free Report) by 90.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 6,676 shares of the airline's stock after selling 66,549 shares during the quarter. Bessemer Group Inc.'s holdings in Southwest Airlines were worth $224,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Avior Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Southwest Airlines by 3.8% in the fourth quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC now owns 10,116 shares of the airline's stock worth $340,000 after acquiring an additional 369 shares during the last quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Southwest Airlines by 3.9% in the fourth quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 9,822 shares of the airline's stock worth $330,000 after buying an additional 369 shares during the period. Diversify Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Southwest Airlines by 2.6% in the fourth quarter. Diversify Wealth Management LLC now owns 16,135 shares of the airline's stock valued at $534,000 after purchasing an additional 409 shares during the period. Independent Advisor Alliance increased its position in shares of Southwest Airlines by 3.4% during the fourth quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance now owns 12,853 shares of the airline's stock worth $432,000 after acquiring an additional 422 shares during the last quarter. Finally, MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB raised its position in shares of Southwest Airlines by 34.1% in the 4th quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 1,770 shares of the airline's stock valued at $60,000 after purchasing an additional 450 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.82% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director C. David Cush acquired 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 12th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $30.03 per share, for a total transaction of $150,150.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 19,011 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $570,900.33. This represents a 35.69 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 0.79% of the company's stock.

Southwest Airlines Stock Down 0.6 %

Shares of NYSE LUV traded down $0.15 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $24.71. The company had a trading volume of 11,518,405 shares, compared to its average volume of 9,927,459. The company has a market capitalization of $14.18 billion, a PE ratio of 34.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a current ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49. Southwest Airlines Co. has a one year low of $23.58 and a one year high of $36.12. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $29.89 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $31.30.

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The airline reported $0.56 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates 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, equities analysts expect that Southwest Airlines Co. will post 1.55 EPS for the current year.

Southwest Airlines Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 2nd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 12th were issued a $0.18 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 12th. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.91%. Southwest Airlines's dividend payout ratio is currently 100.00%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on LUV shares. Susquehanna dropped their price target on Southwest Airlines from $34.00 to $25.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 7th. Bank of America reiterated an "underperform" rating and issued a $31.00 price objective (down from $33.00) on shares of Southwest Airlines in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Jefferies Financial Group cut Southwest Airlines from a "hold" rating to an "underperform" rating and set a $28.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Tuesday, April 1st. UBS Group decreased their target price on shares of Southwest Airlines from $36.00 to $27.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 7th. Finally, Melius raised Southwest Airlines from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $30.88.

Southwest Airlines Company Profile

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.