Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA Increases Stake in Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL)

Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its holdings in shares of Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL - Free Report) by 0.4% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,344,414 shares of the transportation company's stock after buying an additional 14,624 shares during the quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA owned approximately 0.52% of Delta Air Lines worth $169,863,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Huntington National Bank raised its stake in Delta Air Lines by 2.9% in the 3rd quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 6,679 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $339,000 after acquiring an additional 189 shares during the period. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. raised its holdings in Delta Air Lines by 13.8% in the 3rd quarter. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. now owns 1,645 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $84,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares during the period. Oakworth Capital Inc. grew its stake in shares of Delta Air Lines by 16.9% in the third quarter. Oakworth Capital Inc. now owns 1,412 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $72,000 after acquiring an additional 204 shares in the last quarter. Total Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in Delta Air Lines by 3.0% in the third quarter. Total Investment Management Inc. now owns 7,357 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $374,000 after purchasing an additional 212 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its position in Delta Air Lines by 6.0% during the third quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 4,198 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $229,000 after purchasing an additional 239 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 69.93% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Delta Air Lines

In other news, EVP Joanne D. Smith sold 3,431 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, October 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.46, for a total value of $173,128.26. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 108,990 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,499,635.40. This represents a 3.05 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Alain Bellemare sold 19,490 shares of Delta Air Lines stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.26, for a total transaction of $1,077,017.40. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 121,961 shares of the company's stock, valued at $6,739,564.86. This represents a 13.78 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 140,240 shares of company stock valued at $8,044,893 in the last three months. Company insiders own 0.96% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have commented on DAL shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Delta Air Lines from $68.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, October 11th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price objective on shares of Delta Air Lines from $60.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday. Sanford C. Bernstein upped their target price on Delta Air Lines from $62.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Barclays lifted their price target on Delta Air Lines from $60.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, November 14th. Finally, TD Cowen lifted their target price on Delta Air Lines from $59.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $72.75.

Delta Air Lines Stock Performance

NYSE DAL opened at $63.34 on Friday. Delta Air Lines, Inc. has a twelve month low of $35.46 and a twelve month high of $66.25. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $55.01 and a 200 day simple moving average of $49.15. The company has a market capitalization of $40.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.80, a PEG ratio of 1.20 and a beta of 1.33. The company has a quick ratio of 0.34, a current ratio of 0.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.05.

Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 10th. The transportation company reported $1.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.52 by ($0.02). The business had revenue of $15.68 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.65 billion. Delta Air Lines had a net margin of 7.71% and a return on equity of 29.93%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 1.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.03 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Delta Air Lines, Inc. will post 6.07 EPS for the current year.

Delta Air Lines Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 31st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 10th were paid a $0.15 dividend. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.95%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, October 10th. Delta Air Lines's dividend payout ratio is presently 8.33%.

Delta Air Lines 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.