Sentry Investment Management LLC Sells 3,868 Shares of Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL)

Sentry Investment Management LLC reduced its holdings in Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL) by 29.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 9,377 shares of the transportation company’s stock after selling 3,868 shares during the quarter. Sentry Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Delta Air Lines were worth $567,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of DAL. RWC Asset Management LLP increased its position in shares of Delta Air Lines by 38.3% in the fourth quarter. RWC Asset Management LLP now owns 8,012 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $485,000 after purchasing an additional 2,219 shares during the last quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd purchased a new position in Delta Air Lines in the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,702,000. Partners Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Delta Air Lines in the 4th quarter worth $298,000. First Horizon Advisors Inc. raised its position in shares of Delta Air Lines by 249.5% during the 4th quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 2,709 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $164,000 after buying an additional 1,934 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Navellier & Associates Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Delta Air Lines during the 4th quarter worth $233,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 69.93% of the company’s stock.

Delta Air Lines Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:DAL opened at $61.51 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.37, a quick ratio of 0.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $64.28 and a 200-day moving average price of $56.73. The company has a market cap of $39.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.75 and a beta of 1.36. Delta Air Lines, Inc. has a 12 month low of $37.29 and a 12 month high of $69.98.

Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 10th. The transportation company reported $1.85 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.76 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $15.56 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.20 billion. Delta Air Lines had a return on equity of 30.41% and a net margin of 5.61%. Delta Air Lines’s quarterly revenue was up 9.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.28 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Delta Air Lines, Inc. will post 7.63 EPS for the current year.

Delta Air Lines Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 20th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 27th will be paid a $0.15 dividend. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.98%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 27th. Delta Air Lines’s payout ratio is 11.26%.

Insider Activity at Delta Air Lines

In other Delta Air Lines news, CEO Edward H. Bastian sold 91,710 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.85, for a total value of $6,405,943.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 439,819 shares in the company, valued at $30,721,357.15. This trade represents a 17.25 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, SVP William C. Carroll sold 8,400 shares of Delta Air Lines stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.02, for a total value of $554,568.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 19,756 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,304,291.12. The trade was a 29.83 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 162,886 shares of company stock worth $11,116,463 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.96% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently commented on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $83.00 target price on shares of Delta Air Lines in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Barclays raised their price objective on Delta Air Lines from $60.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, November 14th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their target price on Delta Air Lines from $60.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. UBS Group reissued a “buy” rating and set a $88.00 price target on shares of Delta Air Lines in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. Finally, Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Delta Air Lines from $65.00 to $76.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. Fourteen analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $78.22.

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.