Pictet Asset Management Holding SA Has $2.94 Million Stock Holdings in Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV)

Pictet Asset Management Holding SA reduced its holdings in shares of Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV) by 14.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 87,351 shares of the airline’s stock after selling 15,352 shares during the period. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA’s holdings in Southwest Airlines were worth $2,937,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Kestra Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Southwest Airlines during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in Southwest Airlines by 186.7% in the 4th quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 883 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 575 shares in the last quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC grew its position in Southwest Airlines by 41.1% in the third quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 1,184 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 345 shares during the period. VSM Wealth Advisory LLC acquired a new position in Southwest Airlines during the fourth quarter worth $42,000. Finally, Millstone Evans Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Southwest Airlines during the fourth quarter valued at $53,000. Institutional investors own 80.82% of the company’s stock.

Southwest Airlines Stock Performance

LUV stock opened at $25.79 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49. Southwest Airlines Co. has a twelve month low of $23.58 and a twelve month high of $36.12. The business’s fifty day moving average is $31.13 and its 200-day moving average is $31.58. The company has a market cap of $15.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 0.94.

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The airline reported $0.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.45 by $0.11. Southwest Airlines had a return on equity of 5.77% and a net margin of 1.69%. Equities research analysts forecast that Southwest Airlines Co. will post 1.55 EPS for the current year.

Southwest Airlines Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 2nd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 12th were paid a $0.18 dividend. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.79%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 12th. Southwest Airlines’s payout ratio is presently 100.00%.

Insider Transactions at Southwest Airlines

In other Southwest Airlines news, Director C. David Cush purchased 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 12th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $30.03 per share, for a total transaction of $150,150.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 19,011 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $570,900.33. The trade was a 35.69 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on LUV shares. Bank of America reaffirmed an “underperform” rating and issued a $31.00 target price (down previously from $33.00) on shares of Southwest Airlines in a report on Friday, January 17th. Raymond James raised their price objective on shares of Southwest Airlines from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday. Barclays boosted their target price on Southwest Airlines from $32.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $42.00 price target on shares of Southwest Airlines in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lowered Southwest Airlines from a “hold” rating to an “underperform” rating and set a $28.00 price objective on the stock. in a research note on Tuesday. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $32.43.

Southwest Airlines Profile

Southwest Airlines Co operates as a passenger airline company that provides scheduled air transportation services in the United States and near-international markets. As of December 31, 2023, the company operated a total fleet of 817 Boeing 737 aircraft; and served 121 destinations in 42 states, the District of Columbia, and the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, as well as ten near-international countries, including Mexico, Jamaica, the Bahamas, Aruba, the Dominican Republic, Costa Rica, Belize, Cuba, the Cayman Islands, and Turks and Caicos.