Boston Partners Purchases 9,590 Shares of Alaska Air Group, Inc. (ALK)

Boston Partners lifted its position in shares of Alaska Air Group, Inc. (NYSE:ALK) by 7.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 136,792 shares of the transportation company’s stock after purchasing an additional 9,590 shares during the period. Boston Partners owned 0.11% of Alaska Air Group worth $8,324,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc increased its stake in shares of Alaska Air Group by 1.1% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc now owns 12,380,127 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $852,494,000 after purchasing an additional 130,958 shares during the period. BlackRock Inc. increased its stake in shares of Alaska Air Group by 1.2% during the third quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 6,917,114 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $476,313,000 after purchasing an additional 82,310 shares during the period. Primecap Management Co. CA increased its stake in shares of Alaska Air Group by 0.4% during the third quarter. Primecap Management Co. CA now owns 6,024,607 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $414,854,000 after purchasing an additional 23,300 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its position in Alaska Air Group by 0.3% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 3,225,576 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $222,113,000 after buying an additional 10,502 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Alliancebernstein L.P. grew its position in Alaska Air Group by 50.7% during the third quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 2,584,097 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $177,941,000 after buying an additional 869,058 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 90.84% of the company’s stock.

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on ALK shares. Vertical Research started coverage on Alaska Air Group in a research report on Monday, February 4th. They set a “hold” rating on the stock. Zacks Investment Research raised Alaska Air Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $64.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Monday, December 31st. Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on Alaska Air Group in a research report on Monday, November 12th. They set a “buy” rating and a $81.00 price target on the stock. Bank of America reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $71.00 price target (up previously from $63.00) on shares of Alaska Air Group in a research report on Thursday, November 29th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Alaska Air Group from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $67.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 10th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. The stock has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $77.50.

In other Alaska Air Group news, Director J Kenneth Thompson sold 2,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $73.12, for a total value of $182,800.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 36,353 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,658,131.36. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Andrew R. Harrison sold 4,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $62.93, for a total value of $251,720.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 22,167 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,394,969.31. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 7,250 shares of company stock worth $484,875. Company insiders own 0.56% of the company’s stock.

Shares of ALK stock opened at $62.40 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.67 and a beta of 0.88. Alaska Air Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $57.28 and a fifty-two week high of $74.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a quick ratio of 0.69 and a current ratio of 0.61.

Alaska Air Group (NYSE:ALK) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 24th. The transportation company reported $0.75 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the Zacks’ consensus estimate of $0.73 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $2.06 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.06 billion. Alaska Air Group had a return on equity of 15.20% and a net margin of 5.29%. The company’s revenue was up 6.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.83 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Alaska Air Group, Inc. will post 6.66 earnings per share for the current year.

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 7th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 19th will be issued a $0.35 dividend. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.24%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 15th. This is an increase from Alaska Air Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. Alaska Air Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 31.39%.

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About Alaska Air Group

Alaska Air Group, Inc, through its subsidiaries, provides passengers and cargo air transportation services. It also focuses on providing ground and ramp handling services to airlines. The company operates through three segments: Mainline, Regional, and Horizon. It has a network of approximately 1,200 daily flights to 118 destinations across the United States, Mexico, Canada, and Costa Rica.

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