Alaska Air Group, Inc. (NYSE:ALK) Stake Raised by Private Wealth Partners LLC

Private Wealth Partners LLC boosted its stake in Alaska Air Group, Inc. (NYSE:ALK) by 294.4% during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 31,650 shares of the transportation company’s stock after buying an additional 23,625 shares during the period. Private Wealth Partners LLC’s holdings in Alaska Air Group were worth $2,841,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of ALK. Mackenzie Financial Corp bought a new position in Alaska Air Group during the first quarter worth $64,763,000. BlackRock Inc. increased its position in Alaska Air Group by 4,899.5% in the first quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 6,979,699 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $643,668,000 after buying an additional 6,840,090 shares during the period. State Street Corp increased its position in Alaska Air Group by 4.8% in the first quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,553,574 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $419,926,000 after buying an additional 208,195 shares during the period. FMR LLC increased its position in Alaska Air Group by 48.3% in the first quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,810,921 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $167,003,000 after buying an additional 589,937 shares during the period. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in Alaska Air Group by 3.2% in the first quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,221,333 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $112,506,000 after buying an additional 37,413 shares during the period. 94.35% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Shares of Alaska Air Group, Inc. (NYSE ALK) opened at 83.91 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $10.36 billion, a PE ratio of 13.65 and a beta of 0.95. Alaska Air Group, Inc. has a 52-week low of $64.19 and a 52-week high of $101.43. The company has a 50 day moving average of $88.43 and a 200-day moving average of $90.36.

Alaska Air Group (NYSE:ALK) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 26th. The transportation company reported $2.51 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.52 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $2.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.10 billion. Alaska Air Group had a net margin of 11.02% and a return on equity of 30.04%. Alaska Air Group’s quarterly revenue was up 40.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.12 EPS. Analysts forecast that Alaska Air Group, Inc. will post $7.87 EPS for the current fiscal year.

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 7th. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 22nd will be issued a $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 18th. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.43%. Alaska Air Group’s payout ratio is 19.48%.

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on ALK shares. BidaskClub downgraded Alaska Air Group from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 27th. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on Alaska Air Group from $103.00 to $102.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, July 17th. Zacks Investment Research downgraded Alaska Air Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, July 28th. Cowen and Company reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $103.00 price target on shares of Alaska Air Group in a research note on Tuesday, June 20th. Finally, Bank of America Corporation increased their price target on Alaska Air Group from $115.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, June 30th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. The stock currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $105.41.

In other news, EVP Andrew R. Harrison sold 2,350 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $86.03, for a total transaction of $202,170.50. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 21,328 shares in the company, valued at $1,834,847.84. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Chairman Bradley D. Tilden sold 6,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $88.72, for a total transaction of $576,680.00. Following the transaction, the chairman now owns 148,446 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,170,129.12. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 23,850 shares of company stock worth $2,149,881 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.57% of the company’s stock.

Alaska Air Group Company Profile

Alaska Air Group, Inc is the holding company of Alaska Airlines (Alaska), Virgin America Inc, Horizon Air (Horizon) and other business units. The Company operates through three segments: Mainline, Regional and Horizon. Its Mainline segment includes Alaska’s and Virgin America’s scheduled air transportation for passengers and cargo throughout the United States, and in parts of Canada, Mexico, Costa Rica and Cuba.