Merit Financial Group LLC Acquires 2,053 Shares of Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL)

Merit Financial Group LLC increased its holdings in Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL) by 17.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 14,106 shares of the transportation company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,053 shares during the quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC’s holdings in Delta Air Lines were worth $567,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Morgan Stanley grew its stake in shares of Delta Air Lines by 8.7% in the third quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 10,839,122 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $401,048,000 after purchasing an additional 865,746 shares during the last quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. boosted its position in Delta Air Lines by 17.1% during the 3rd quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. now owns 5,091,528 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $188,514,000 after acquiring an additional 743,882 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp boosted its position in Delta Air Lines by 3.0% during the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 4,966,330 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $183,754,000 after acquiring an additional 145,513 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. boosted its position in Delta Air Lines by 27.0% during the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 4,813,848 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $178,112,000 after acquiring an additional 1,022,957 shares in the last quarter. Finally, U S Global Investors Inc. boosted its position in Delta Air Lines by 21.1% during the 4th quarter. U S Global Investors Inc. now owns 4,434,509 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $178,400,000 after acquiring an additional 773,636 shares in the last quarter. 69.93% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Delta Air Lines Price Performance

Shares of NYSE DAL opened at $52.20 on Wednesday. Delta Air Lines, Inc. has a twelve month low of $30.60 and a twelve month high of $53.00. The firm has a market cap of $33.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.71, a PEG ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 1.38. The company has a 50 day moving average of $46.41 and a 200 day moving average of $41.09. 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 announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 11th. The transportation company reported $0.45 earnings per share 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 analyst estimates of $12.51 billion. Delta Air Lines had a net margin of 8.48% and a return on equity of 41.89%. The company’s quarterly 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 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Delta Air Lines, Inc. will post 6.61 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Delta Air Lines Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 4th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.10 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 13th. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.77%. Delta Air Lines’s dividend payout ratio is presently 5.14%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have weighed in on DAL shares. Susquehanna lifted their price objective on Delta Air Lines from $47.00 to $54.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 9th. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $85.00 price objective on shares of Delta Air Lines in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Bank of America boosted their price target on Delta Air Lines from $53.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price target on Delta Air Lines from $50.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Finally, StockNews.com cut Delta Air Lines from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 22nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Delta Air Lines currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $58.29.

Insider Buying and Selling at Delta Air Lines

In other Delta Air Lines news, President Glen W. Hauenstein sold 100,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, April 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $49.05, for a total transaction of $4,905,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the president now directly owns 217,584 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,672,495.20. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other news, President Glen W. Hauenstein sold 100,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, April 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $49.05, for a total value of $4,905,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the president now directly owns 217,584 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,672,495.20. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Peter W. Carter sold 50,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, April 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.00, for a total value of $2,500,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 143,328 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,166,400. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 174,073 shares of company stock worth $8,581,207. Insiders own 0.89% of the company’s stock.

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.