Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV) Shares Sold by Primecap Management Co. CA

Primecap Management Co. CA trimmed its stake in Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV) by 1.5% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 48,900,053 shares of the airline’s stock after selling 769,471 shares during the period. Southwest Airlines makes up approximately 1.3% of Primecap Management Co. CA’s holdings, making the stock its 22nd biggest position. Primecap Management Co. CA owned about 0.08% of Southwest Airlines worth $1,644,020,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. Studio Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Southwest Airlines by 5.2% in the 3rd quarter. Studio Investment Management LLC now owns 6,978 shares of the airline’s stock worth $207,000 after acquiring an additional 343 shares during the last quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC grew its holdings in shares of Southwest Airlines by 41.1% in the 3rd quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 1,184 shares of the airline’s stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 345 shares during the last quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Southwest Airlines by 3.8% in the fourth quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC now owns 10,116 shares of the airline’s stock worth $340,000 after buying an additional 369 shares during the period. V Square Quantitative Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Southwest Airlines by 3.9% in the fourth quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 9,822 shares of the airline’s stock worth $330,000 after buying an additional 369 shares during the period. Finally, Wahed Invest LLC boosted its position in shares of Southwest Airlines by 11.5% in the third quarter. Wahed Invest LLC now owns 3,638 shares of the airline’s stock worth $108,000 after buying an additional 375 shares during the period. 80.82% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Southwest Airlines news, Director C. David Cush acquired 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 12th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $30.03 per share, with a total value of $150,150.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 19,011 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $570,900.33. This trade represents a 35.69 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 0.33% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Southwest Airlines Stock Performance

LUV opened at $32.14 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $19.05 billion, a PE ratio of 44.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 1.10. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $31.09 and a 200-day moving average of $31.27. Southwest Airlines Co. has a 52-week low of $23.58 and a 52-week high of $36.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.92.

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The airline reported $0.56 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.45 by $0.11. Southwest Airlines had a return on equity of 5.77% and a net margin of 1.69%. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Southwest Airlines Co. will post 1.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Southwest Airlines Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 2nd. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 12th will be given a dividend of $0.18 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 12th. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.24%. Southwest Airlines’s dividend payout ratio is presently 100.00%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently commented on LUV. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reaffirmed an “underweight” rating and issued a $25.00 target price on shares of Southwest Airlines in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. TD Cowen raised their target price on Southwest Airlines from $25.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Barclays raised their target price on Southwest Airlines from $32.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Sanford C. Bernstein raised their target price on Southwest Airlines from $30.00 to $33.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, Raymond James lifted their price objective on Southwest Airlines from $36.00 to $40.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, December 30th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $31.72.

Southwest Airlines Profile

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.