California Public Employees Retirement System Lowers Holdings in Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL)

California Public Employees Retirement System lessened its holdings in Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL) by 3.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,157,625 shares of the transportation company’s stock after selling 41,931 shares during the period. California Public Employees Retirement System owned approximately 0.18% of Delta Air Lines worth $46,571,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of DAL. RWA Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in Delta Air Lines during the fourth quarter worth about $225,000. Jennison Associates LLC increased its holdings in Delta Air Lines by 145.2% in the 4th quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 2,618,627 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $105,347,000 after purchasing an additional 1,550,770 shares during the last quarter. Foundry Partners LLC raised its position in Delta Air Lines by 23.0% in the fourth quarter. Foundry Partners LLC now owns 578,725 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $23,282,000 after purchasing an additional 108,060 shares during the period. Capital Investment Advisory Services LLC acquired a new position in Delta Air Lines during the fourth quarter worth $215,000. Finally, Cetera Trust Company N.A acquired a new stake in shares of Delta Air Lines in the fourth quarter valued at $1,614,000. 69.93% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have weighed in on DAL shares. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $85.00 target price on shares of Delta Air Lines in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Bank of America increased their target price on shares of Delta Air Lines from $53.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. UBS Group initiated coverage on Delta Air Lines in a research report on Wednesday, March 20th. They set a “buy” rating and a $59.00 price objective on the stock. StockNews.com lowered Delta Air Lines from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, February 22nd. Finally, Susquehanna increased their price target on Delta Air Lines from $47.00 to $54.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 9th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $58.29.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Alain Bellemare sold 24,073 shares of Delta Air Lines stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.86, for a total value of $1,176,206.78. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 141,451 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,911,295.86. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other Delta Air Lines news, EVP Alain Bellemare sold 24,073 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $48.86, for a total transaction of $1,176,206.78. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 141,451 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,911,295.86. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Edward H. Bastian sold 71,840 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $39.20, for a total value of $2,816,128.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 428,768 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $16,807,705.60. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 195,913 shares of company stock valued at $8,897,335 over the last three months. 0.89% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Delta Air Lines Price Performance

Shares of NYSE DAL opened at $49.90 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.41, a quick ratio of 0.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.48. The stock has a market cap of $32.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.41, a P/E/G ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 1.43. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $45.03 and a two-hundred day moving average of $40.18. Delta Air Lines, Inc. has a twelve month low of $30.60 and a twelve month high of $50.24.

Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 11th. The transportation company reported $0.45 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.36 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $13.75 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $12.51 billion. Delta Air Lines had a net margin of 8.48% and a return on equity of 41.89%. Delta Air Lines’s quarterly revenue was up 7.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.25 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Delta Air Lines, Inc. will post 6.52 earnings per share for the current year.

Delta Air Lines Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 4th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.10 per share. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.80%. Delta Air Lines’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 5.14%.

Delta Air Lines Company 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.