Sanders Capital LLC Grows Position in Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL)

Sanders Capital LLC increased its position in Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL) by 2.8% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 27,841,592 shares of the transportation company’s stock after purchasing an additional 749,099 shares during the period. Delta Air Lines comprises 2.0% of Sanders Capital LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 15th largest position. Sanders Capital LLC’s holdings in Delta Air Lines were worth $1,414,074,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in DAL. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in shares of Delta Air Lines by 12.5% in the 2nd 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 in the last quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Delta Air Lines during the third quarter valued at approximately $281,206,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Delta Air Lines by 0.3% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,497,487 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $177,637,000 after purchasing an additional 10,332 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its position in shares of Delta Air Lines by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 3,344,414 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $169,863,000 after purchasing an additional 14,624 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 buying an additional 358,082 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 69.93% of the company’s stock.

Delta Air Lines Stock Performance

DAL stock opened at $65.05 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.05, a current ratio of 0.39 and a quick ratio of 0.34. Delta Air Lines, Inc. has a 1 year low of $35.46 and a 1 year high of $66.25. The company has a market cap of $41.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.20 and a beta of 1.33. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $55.40 and its 200-day moving average price is $49.19.

Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 10th. The transportation company reported $1.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 firm had revenue of $15.68 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.65 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.03 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that Delta Air Lines, Inc. will post 6.07 earnings per share for the current year.

Delta Air Lines Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 31st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 10th were issued a dividend of $0.15 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, October 10th. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.92%. Delta Air Lines’s dividend payout ratio is currently 8.33%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

DAL has been the topic of several analyst reports. Susquehanna boosted their target price on Delta Air Lines from $50.00 to $59.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Bank of America increased their price objective on shares of Delta Air Lines from $55.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 11th. BNP Paribas upgraded shares of Delta Air Lines to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “buy” rating and set a $83.00 price target on shares of Delta Air Lines in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on Delta Air Lines from $58.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, November 11th. One investment 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’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $74.98.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Edward H. Bastian sold 68,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $56.33, for a total value of $3,830,440.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 439,819 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $24,775,004.27. This represents a 13.39 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP William C. Carroll sold 21,530 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.62, for a total transaction of $1,305,148.60. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 19,756 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,197,608.72. The trade was a 52.15 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 140,240 shares of company stock worth $8,044,893. Company insiders own 0.96% 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.