Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV) Shares Bought by Meeder Asset Management Inc.

Meeder Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV - Free Report) by 475.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 28,308 shares of the airline's stock after purchasing an additional 23,390 shares during the quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc.'s holdings in Southwest Airlines were worth $952,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. TD Private Client Wealth LLC boosted its position in Southwest Airlines by 41.1% during the 3rd quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 1,184 shares of the airline's stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 345 shares during the period. Avior Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Southwest Airlines by 3.8% during the fourth quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC now owns 10,116 shares of the airline's stock worth $340,000 after purchasing an additional 369 shares during the period. V Square Quantitative Management LLC increased its holdings in Southwest Airlines by 3.9% during the 4th quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 9,822 shares of the airline's stock valued at $330,000 after purchasing an additional 369 shares during the period. Wahed Invest LLC raised its position in Southwest Airlines by 11.5% during the 3rd quarter. Wahed Invest LLC now owns 3,638 shares of the airline's stock valued at $108,000 after purchasing an additional 375 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Diversify Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in Southwest Airlines by 2.6% in the 4th quarter. Diversify Wealth Management LLC now owns 16,135 shares of the airline's stock worth $534,000 after buying an additional 409 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.82% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Susquehanna reduced their price objective on shares of Southwest Airlines from $38.00 to $34.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Melius raised shares of Southwest Airlines from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Raymond James lifted their price objective on Southwest Airlines from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $42.00 price target on shares of Southwest Airlines in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, Argus upgraded shares of Southwest Airlines from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $35.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Southwest Airlines has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $32.43.

Southwest Airlines Trading Down 10.1 %

NYSE:LUV traded down $2.93 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $25.94. 10,962,104 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 9,600,790. 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 12-month low of $23.58 and a 12-month high of $36.12. The firm has a market capitalization of $15.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.04, a P/E/G ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 0.94. The firm's fifty day moving average is $31.26 and its 200-day moving average is $31.60.

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The airline reported $0.56 EPS for the quarter, topping 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, sell-side analysts predict that Southwest Airlines Co. will post 1.55 EPS for the current year.

Southwest Airlines Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 2nd. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 12th were issued a $0.18 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 12th. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.78%. Southwest Airlines's payout ratio is 100.00%.

Insider Activity at Southwest Airlines

In other Southwest Airlines news, Director C. David Cush acquired 5,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 12th. The stock was purchased at an average price 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 approximately $570,900.33. This trade represents a 35.69 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.