Mount Lucas Management LP Sells 55,767 Shares of Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL)

Mount Lucas Management LP lessened its holdings in shares of Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL - Free Report) by 48.7% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 58,813 shares of the transportation company's stock after selling 55,767 shares during the quarter. Delta Air Lines makes up approximately 1.0% of Mount Lucas Management LP's investment portfolio, making the stock its 15th largest position. Mount Lucas Management LP's holdings in Delta Air Lines were worth $2,987,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of DAL. Capital World Investors lifted its holdings in Delta Air Lines by 0.3% during the 1st quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 15,030,836 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $719,526,000 after purchasing an additional 49,712 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in Delta Air Lines by 12.5% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 9,933,785 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $471,330,000 after acquiring an additional 1,105,674 shares during the period. Silvercrest Asset Management Group LLC raised its stake in Delta Air Lines by 17.0% in the 1st quarter. Silvercrest Asset Management Group LLC now owns 1,826,473 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $87,433,000 after purchasing an additional 265,886 shares in the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Delta Air Lines by 28.9% in the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,595,203 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $81,020,000 after purchasing an additional 358,082 shares during the period. Finally, Ceredex Value Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Delta Air Lines by 0.7% during the 2nd quarter. Ceredex Value Advisors LLC now owns 1,557,517 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $73,889,000 after purchasing an additional 11,461 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 69.93% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Joanne D. Smith sold 3,431 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.46, for a total transaction of $173,128.26. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 108,990 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,499,635.40. This represents a 3.05 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Allison C. Ausband sold 7,510 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $62.62, for a total transaction of $470,276.20. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 58,897 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,688,130.14. The trade was a 11.31 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 140,240 shares of company stock valued at $8,044,893. Corporate insiders own 0.96% of the company's stock.

Delta Air Lines Trading Down 1.2 %

NYSE DAL traded down $0.78 on Friday, hitting $64.07. The company's stock had a trading volume of 9,852,574 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,029,064. The company's 50-day moving average is $53.06 and its 200 day moving average is $48.71. The firm has a market cap of $41.34 billion, a PE ratio of 8.90, a PEG ratio of 1.22 and a beta of 1.33. Delta Air Lines, Inc. has a 1-year low of $35.28 and a 1-year high of $66.25. 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 issued its quarterly earnings data 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). Delta Air Lines had a return on equity of 29.93% and a net margin of 7.71%. The company had revenue of $15.68 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.65 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $2.03 earnings per share. Delta Air Lines's revenue was up 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts predict that Delta Air Lines, Inc. will post 6.07 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Delta Air Lines Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 31st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 10th were paid a dividend of $0.15 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, October 10th. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.94%. Delta Air Lines's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 8.33%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have commented on DAL shares. BNP Paribas upgraded Delta Air Lines to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Delta Air Lines from $68.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, October 11th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on shares of Delta Air Lines from $58.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, November 11th. Sanford C. Bernstein raised their target price 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. Finally, Bank of America upped their price target on shares of Delta Air Lines from $55.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, October 11th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $71.22.

Delta Air Lines Company 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.