Southwest Airlines Company (LUV) Shares Sold by Hartford Investment Management Co.

Hartford Investment Management Co. cut its stake in Southwest Airlines Company (NYSE:LUV) by 28.4% during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 149,445 shares of the airline’s stock after selling 59,169 shares during the period. Hartford Investment Management Co.’s holdings in Southwest Airlines were worth $9,287,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. National Pension Service purchased a new stake in Southwest Airlines during the second quarter valued at about $141,000. Guardian Life Insurance Co. of America boosted its position in shares of Southwest Airlines by 0.6% in the first quarter. Guardian Life Insurance Co. of America now owns 2,374 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $128,000 after buying an additional 15 shares in the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its position in shares of Southwest Airlines by 6.6% in the first quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 2,502 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $135,000 after buying an additional 154 shares in the last quarter. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. boosted its position in shares of Southwest Airlines by 2.9% in the second quarter. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. now owns 2,632 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $164,000 after buying an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. Finally, TrimTabs Asset Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Southwest Airlines by 88.9% in the first quarter. TrimTabs Asset Management LLC now owns 2,821 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $152,000 after buying an additional 1,328 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.69% of the company’s stock.

Shares of Southwest Airlines Company (NYSE LUV) opened at 56.57 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $34.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.97 and a beta of 1.29. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $61.03 and its 200-day moving average price is $56.85. Southwest Airlines Company has a 52-week low of $35.42 and a 52-week high of $64.39.

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 27th. The airline reported $1.24 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.20 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $5.74 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.73 billion. Southwest Airlines had a net margin of 10.16% and a return on equity of 26.75%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.19 EPS. On average, analysts predict that Southwest Airlines Company will post $3.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Southwest Airlines announced that its board has approved a share repurchase program on Wednesday, May 17th that allows the company to repurchase $2.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the airline to purchase up to 5.8% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 28th. Investors of record on Wednesday, June 7th were issued a $0.125 dividend. This is an increase from Southwest Airlines’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.10. This represents a $0.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.88%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 5th. Southwest Airlines’s payout ratio is presently 15.11%.

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Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Cowen and Company restated a “buy” rating and set a $67.00 target price on shares of Southwest Airlines in a report on Friday. Vetr upgraded Southwest Airlines from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and set a $64.53 target price on the stock in a report on Thursday. BidaskClub cut Southwest Airlines from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday. Sanford C. Bernstein restated an “outperform” rating and set a $70.00 target price on shares of Southwest Airlines in a report on Thursday, July 13th. Finally, Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating and set a $66.00 target price (up from $65.00) on shares of Southwest Airlines in a report on Monday, July 10th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. The company currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $65.78.

In related news, EVP Robert E. Jordan sold 15,273 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $59.72, for a total value of $912,103.56. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 102,527 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,122,912.44. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Jeff Lamb sold 19,800 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $61.00, for a total transaction of $1,207,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 92,468 shares in the company, valued at $5,640,548. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 118,740 shares of company stock worth $6,923,568 over the last quarter. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Southwest Airlines Company Profile

Southwest Airlines Co (Southwest) operates Southwest Airlines, a passenger airline that provides scheduled air transportation in the United States and near-international markets. The Company provides point-to-point service. The Company offers ancillary service offerings, such as Southwest’s EarlyBird Check-In and transportation of pets and unaccompanied minors, in accordance with Southwest’s respective policies.