Jennison Associates LLC Trims Holdings in Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL)

Jennison Associates LLC trimmed its position in Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL) by 56.4% in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 886,779 shares of the transportation company’s stock after selling 1,146,098 shares during the period. Jennison Associates LLC’s holdings in Delta Air Lines were worth $45,040,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. acquired a new stake in Delta Air Lines during the second quarter worth about $60,217,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in Delta Air Lines by 12.5% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 9,933,785 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $471,330,000 after buying an additional 1,105,674 shares during the period. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC raised its holdings in Delta Air Lines by 419.5% during the third quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 562,129 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $28,551,000 after purchasing an additional 453,926 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its stake in Delta Air Lines by 159.8% during the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 588,436 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $27,915,000 after buying an additional 361,942 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of 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 worth $81,020,000 after purchasing an additional 358,082 shares during the last quarter. 69.93% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. TD Cowen upped their price target on shares of Delta Air Lines from $59.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on shares of Delta Air Lines from $58.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, November 11th. Sanford C. Bernstein upped their price target on Delta Air Lines from $62.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of Delta Air Lines from $55.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 11th. Finally, Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Delta Air Lines from $60.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 14th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $72.75.

Insider Transactions at Delta Air Lines

In other Delta Air Lines news, EVP Joanne D. Smith sold 3,431 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, October 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.46, for a total transaction of $173,128.26. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 108,990 shares of the company’s stock, 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 legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Alain Bellemare sold 19,490 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.26, for a total transaction of $1,077,017.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 121,961 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,739,564.86. This represents a 13.78 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 140,240 shares of company stock valued at $8,044,893 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.96% of the company’s stock.

Delta Air Lines Price Performance

DAL opened at $63.48 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $40.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.23 and a beta of 1.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.05, a current ratio of 0.39 and a quick ratio of 0.34. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $54.65 and its 200-day simple moving average is $49.08. Delta Air Lines, Inc. has a one year low of $35.46 and a one year high of $66.25.

Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 10th. The transportation company reported $1.50 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.52 by ($0.02). The business had revenue of $15.68 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.65 billion. Delta Air Lines had a net margin of 7.71% and a return on equity of 29.93%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 1.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.03 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Delta Air Lines, Inc. will post 6.07 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Delta Air Lines Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 31st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 10th were issued a dividend of $0.15 per share. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.95%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, October 10th. Delta Air Lines’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 8.33%.

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.