Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. Sells 9,273 Shares of Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV)

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. lessened its stake in Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV - Free Report) by 2.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 339,116 shares of the airline's stock after selling 9,273 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. owned 0.06% of Southwest Airlines worth $11,401,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of LUV. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. grew its position in Southwest Airlines by 186.7% in the 4th quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 883 shares of the airline's stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 575 shares in the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new position in shares of Southwest Airlines during the 3rd quarter valued at about $33,000. TD Private Client Wealth LLC boosted its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 345 shares in the last quarter. New England Capital Financial Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Southwest Airlines by 35.3% during the 3rd quarter. New England Capital Financial Advisors LLC now owns 1,923 shares of the airline's stock valued at $57,000 after purchasing an additional 502 shares in the last quarter. Finally, JFS Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Southwest Airlines by 120.9% during the 3rd quarter. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,001 shares of the airline's stock valued at $59,000 after purchasing an additional 1,095 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.82% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently weighed in on LUV. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a "sell" rating and set a $28.00 price objective on shares of Southwest Airlines in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Morgan Stanley restated an "overweight" rating and set a $42.00 price objective on shares of Southwest Airlines in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Southwest Airlines from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, October 28th. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Southwest Airlines from $27.00 to $29.00 and gave the company a "sell" rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Raymond James raised their target price on shares of Southwest Airlines from $36.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, December 30th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $31.78.

Insider Buying and Selling at Southwest Airlines

In other Southwest Airlines news, insider Linda B. Rutherford sold 3,849 shares of Southwest Airlines stock in a transaction on Friday, December 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $34.40, for a total transaction of $132,405.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 89,376 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,074,534.40. This trade represents a 4.13 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 0.33% of the company's stock.

Southwest Airlines Stock Performance

LUV traded up $0.28 during trading on Friday, reaching $30.21. 7,017,028 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 8,896,008. Southwest Airlines Co. has a fifty-two week low of $23.58 and a fifty-two week high of $36.12. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $32.44 and a 200 day moving average price of $30.65. The company has a market capitalization of $17.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 41.95, a PEG ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 1.14.

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The airline reported $0.56 earnings per share 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%. As a group, analysts predict that Southwest Airlines Co. will post 1.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Southwest Airlines Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 2nd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 12th will be issued a dividend of $0.18 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 12th. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.38%. Southwest Airlines's payout ratio is presently 100.00%.

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.