Franklin Resources Inc. Has $43.59 Million Position in Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL)

Franklin Resources Inc. lessened its holdings in shares of Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL - Free Report) by 31.1% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 819,583 shares of the transportation company's stock after selling 369,621 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. owned 0.13% of Delta Air Lines worth $43,585,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Senator Investment Group LP lifted its position in Delta Air Lines by 90.0% during the 2nd quarter. Senator Investment Group LP now owns 475,000 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $22,534,000 after purchasing an additional 225,000 shares during the period. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. lifted its holdings in Delta Air Lines by 5.4% in the third quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. now owns 268,636 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $13,644,000 after buying an additional 13,802 shares during the period. KBC Group NV lifted its holdings in Delta Air Lines by 143.7% in the third quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 56,611 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $2,876,000 after buying an additional 33,378 shares during the period. Olstein Capital Management L.P. boosted its stake in Delta Air Lines by 32.6% in the third quarter. Olstein Capital Management L.P. now owns 175,000 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $8,888,000 after acquiring an additional 43,000 shares during the last quarter. Finally, River Road Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in Delta Air Lines by 22.8% during the 3rd quarter. River Road Asset Management LLC now owns 130,608 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $6,634,000 after acquiring an additional 24,249 shares during the period. 69.93% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Delta Air Lines

In other news, EVP Alain Bellemare sold 19,490 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.26, for a total value of $1,077,017.40. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 121,961 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,739,564.86. The trade was a 13.78 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Allison C. Ausband sold 7,510 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $62.62, for a total value of $470,276.20. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 58,897 shares in the company, valued at $3,688,130.14. This represents a 11.31 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 140,240 shares of company stock worth $8,044,893 over the last quarter. 0.96% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Delta Air Lines Stock Down 3.2 %

Delta Air Lines stock traded down $1.93 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $58.88. The company's stock had a trading volume of 8,165,557 shares, compared to its average volume of 9,185,660. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.05, a quick ratio of 0.34 and a current ratio of 0.39. Delta Air Lines, Inc. has a 12 month low of $36.34 and a 12 month high of $67.50. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $60.12 and its 200 day simple moving average is $50.51. The company has a market capitalization of $37.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.21 and a beta of 1.35.

Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 10th. The transportation company reported $1.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.52 by ($0.02). The company had revenue of $15.68 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.65 billion. Delta Air Lines had a net margin of 7.71% and a return on equity of 29.93%. Delta Air Lines's revenue was up 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.03 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Delta Air Lines, Inc. will post 6.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Delta Air Lines Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 31st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 10th were given a dividend of $0.15 per share. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.02%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, October 10th. Delta Air Lines's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 8.33%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Bank of America increased their price target on Delta Air Lines from $55.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, October 11th. Barclays raised their target price on Delta Air Lines from $60.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, November 14th. BNP Paribas raised Delta Air Lines to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. TD Cowen increased their price target on shares of Delta Air Lines from $59.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their price objective on shares of Delta Air Lines from $62.00 to $65.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $75.83.

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.