Natixis Advisors LLC Boosts Stake in Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL)

Natixis Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL - Free Report) by 4.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 176,560 shares of the transportation company's stock after buying an additional 7,504 shares during the period. Natixis Advisors LLC's holdings in Delta Air Lines were worth $10,682,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Donoghue Forlines LLC bought a new position in Delta Air Lines during the fourth quarter worth $2,036,000. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Delta Air Lines by 2.8% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 15,501,936 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $789,452,000 after buying an additional 416,338 shares during the last quarter. Castle Hook Partners LP bought a new position in Delta Air Lines during the third quarter worth $189,296,000. Meridian Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Delta Air Lines during the third quarter worth $1,693,000. Finally, Mount Yale Investment Advisors LLC bought a new position in Delta Air Lines during the fourth quarter worth $3,593,000. Institutional investors own 69.93% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Edward H. Bastian sold 91,710 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.85, for a total transaction of $6,405,943.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 439,819 shares of the company's stock, valued at $30,721,357.15. This represents a 17.25 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Rahul D. Samant sold 38,023 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.89, for a total transaction of $2,467,312.47. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 52,789 shares in the company, valued at $3,425,478.21. The trade was a 41.87 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 162,886 shares of company stock valued at $11,116,463 in the last three months. Company insiders own 0.96% of the company's stock.

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Delta Air Lines Stock Down 0.1 %

Shares of NYSE DAL traded down $0.07 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $46.89. 17,058,560 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 8,795,711. The stock has a market cap of $30.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.80, a PEG ratio of 0.75 and a beta of 1.34. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $60.80 and a 200 day simple moving average of $58.13. Delta Air Lines, Inc. has a 1-year low of $37.29 and a 1-year high of $69.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 0.37 and a quick ratio of 0.32.

Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 10th. The transportation company reported $1.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.76 by $0.09. Delta Air Lines had a net margin of 5.61% and a return on equity of 30.41%. The business had revenue of $15.56 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.20 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.28 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 9.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts expect that Delta Air Lines, Inc. will post 7.63 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Delta Air Lines Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 20th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 27th were given a $0.15 dividend. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.28%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 27th. Delta Air Lines's payout ratio is 11.26%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on DAL shares. Susquehanna lifted their target price on shares of Delta Air Lines from $59.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a "positive" rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Barclays decreased their price target on shares of Delta Air Lines from $90.00 to $80.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. UBS Group decreased their price target on shares of Delta Air Lines from $90.00 to $77.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. StockNews.com raised shares of Delta Air Lines from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Citigroup decreased their price target on shares of Delta Air Lines from $80.00 to $72.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, March 18th. Fourteen research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $76.29.

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.