Meridian Wealth Management LLC Makes New $1.69 Million Investment in Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL)

Meridian Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL) during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm purchased 33,372 shares of the transportation company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,693,000.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Future Financial Wealth Managment LLC acquired a new position in Delta Air Lines in the third quarter worth approximately $25,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new position in Delta Air Lines in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $31,000. Kimelman & Baird LLC acquired a new position in Delta Air Lines in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $31,000. Unique Wealth Strategies LLC acquired a new position in Delta Air Lines in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $40,000. Finally, Quarry LP acquired a new position in Delta Air Lines in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $41,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 69.93% of the company’s stock.

Delta Air Lines Stock Performance

Shares of DAL opened at $63.34 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $40.87 billion, a PE ratio of 8.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.23 and a beta of 1.33. Delta Air Lines, Inc. has a one year low of $35.46 and a one year high of $66.25. 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 fifty day moving average price is $55.01 and its 200 day moving average price is $49.15.

Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 10th. The transportation company reported $1.50 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.52 by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $15.68 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.65 billion. Delta Air Lines had a return on equity of 29.93% and a net margin of 7.71%. The business’s revenue was up 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $2.03 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Delta Air Lines, Inc. will post 6.07 earnings per share for the current year.

Delta Air Lines Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 31st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 10th were given a $0.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, October 10th. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.95%. Delta Air Lines’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 8.33%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the stock. Sanford C. Bernstein raised their price objective on shares of Delta Air Lines from $62.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Delta Air Lines from $60.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 14th. Susquehanna lifted their target price on shares of Delta Air Lines from $50.00 to $59.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Delta Air Lines from $68.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, October 11th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their target price on shares of Delta Air Lines from $60.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Delta Air Lines currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $72.75.

Insider Transactions at Delta Air Lines

In related news, SVP William C. Carroll sold 21,530 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.62, for a total transaction of $1,305,148.60. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 19,756 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,197,608.72. The trade was a 52.15 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Joanne D. Smith sold 3,431 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 11th. The stock was 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 trade represents a 3.05 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 140,240 shares of company stock worth $8,044,893. Corporate 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.