Dimensional Fund Advisors LP Buys 56,740 Shares of Alaska Air Group, Inc. (NYSE:ALK)

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in shares of Alaska Air Group, Inc. (NYSE:ALK - Free Report) by 0.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 6,225,054 shares of the transportation company's stock after buying an additional 56,740 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP owned about 4.90% of Alaska Air Group worth $403,076,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Avior Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Alaska Air Group by 44.8% in the 4th quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC now owns 588 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 182 shares in the last quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Alaska Air Group during the 4th quarter worth approximately $52,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new stake in Alaska Air Group in the third quarter valued at $59,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in Alaska Air Group by 61.6% during the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 955 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $62,000 after buying an additional 364 shares during the period. Finally, Millstone Evans Group LLC purchased a new position in Alaska Air Group in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $76,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.90% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on ALK shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Alaska Air Group from $85.00 to $89.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on shares of Alaska Air Group from $70.00 to $79.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. TD Cowen lifted their price objective on shares of Alaska Air Group from $85.00 to $110.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. UBS Group downgraded Alaska Air Group from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $75.00 to $54.00 in a report on Monday, April 7th. Finally, Susquehanna decreased their price target on Alaska Air Group from $95.00 to $55.00 and set a "positive" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $70.15.

Alaska Air Group Stock Up 2.6 %

ALK stock traded up $1.16 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $46.10. 3,972,002 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,591,581. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $56.05 and its 200 day simple moving average is $57.93. The firm has a market cap of $5.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.12, a P/E/G ratio of 0.43 and a beta of 1.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 0.58 and a current ratio of 0.61. Alaska Air Group, Inc. has a 1-year low of $32.62 and a 1-year high of $78.08.

Alaska Air Group (NYSE:ALK - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The transportation company reported ($0.77) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.58) by ($0.19). Alaska Air Group had a net margin of 3.37% and a return on equity of 14.66%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Alaska Air Group, Inc. will post 6.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Alaska Air Group

In other news, EVP Andrew R. Harrison sold 6,600 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $76.28, for a total transaction of $503,448.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 34,030 shares in the company, valued at $2,595,808.40. This trade represents a 16.24 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, COO Muehlen Constance E. Von sold 22,157 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.12, for a total value of $1,664,433.84. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 20,026 shares of the company's stock, 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. In the last quarter, insiders sold 154,725 shares of company stock valued at $11,217,263. Corporate insiders own 0.92% of the company's stock.

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.