Sigma Planning Corp Sells 32,527 Shares of Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL)

Sigma Planning Corp trimmed its holdings in shares of Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL) by 50.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 31,921 shares of the transportation company’s stock after selling 32,527 shares during the quarter. Sigma Planning Corp’s holdings in Delta Air Lines were worth $1,284,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in DAL. Morgan Stanley increased its stake in shares of Delta Air Lines by 8.7% during the third quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 10,839,122 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $401,048,000 after buying an additional 865,746 shares during the period. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Delta Air Lines by 17.1% during the third quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. now owns 5,091,528 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $188,514,000 after buying an additional 743,882 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp increased its stake in shares of Delta Air Lines by 3.0% during the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 4,966,330 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $183,754,000 after buying an additional 145,513 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Delta Air Lines by 27.0% during the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 4,813,848 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $178,112,000 after buying an additional 1,022,957 shares during the period. Finally, U S Global Investors Inc. grew its stake in Delta Air Lines by 21.1% in the fourth quarter. U S Global Investors Inc. now owns 4,434,509 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $178,400,000 after purchasing an additional 773,636 shares during the last quarter. 69.93% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Delta Air Lines Trading Up 3.0 %

Delta Air Lines stock opened at $49.02 on Tuesday. Delta Air Lines, Inc. has a 52 week low of $30.60 and a 52 week high of $49.81. The company has a market capitalization of $31.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 1.43. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $44.33 and a 200 day moving average price of $39.86. The company has a quick ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 0.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.48.

Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 11th. The transportation company reported $0.45 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.36 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $13.75 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $12.51 billion. Delta Air Lines had a return on equity of 41.89% and a net margin of 8.48%. The business’s revenue was up 7.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.25 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Delta Air Lines, Inc. will post 6.52 EPS for the current year.

Delta Air Lines Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 18th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 26th were given a $0.10 dividend. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.82%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 23rd. Delta Air Lines’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 5.14%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have issued reports on DAL. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $85.00 target price on shares of Delta Air Lines in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. TheStreet upgraded Delta Air Lines from a “c+” rating to a “b-” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 4th. StockNews.com lowered Delta Air Lines from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 22nd. Bank of America lifted their target price on Delta Air Lines from $53.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Finally, UBS Group began coverage on Delta Air Lines in a research note on Wednesday, March 20th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $59.00 target price on the stock. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $58.29.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Edward H. Bastian sold 71,840 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $39.20, for a total transaction of $2,816,128.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 428,768 shares in the company, valued at $16,807,705.60. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.89% of the company’s stock.

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.