California Public Employees Retirement System Sells 62,534 Shares of Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL)

California Public Employees Retirement System cut its stake in Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL) by 5.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,139,230 shares of the transportation company’s stock after selling 62,534 shares during the quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System’s holdings in Delta Air Lines were worth $68,923,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank grew its holdings in Delta Air Lines by 16.0% during the 3rd quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 36,571 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $1,857,000 after buying an additional 5,046 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Delta Air Lines by 12.5% in the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 1,329,941 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $67,548,000 after buying an additional 147,438 shares in the last quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors boosted its position in shares of Delta Air Lines by 6.0% in the third quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 54,542 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $2,770,000 after acquiring an additional 3,106 shares during the period. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec grew its stake in Delta Air Lines by 2,958.9% during the third quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec now owns 199,531 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $10,134,000 after acquiring an additional 193,008 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Atom Investors LP bought a new stake in Delta Air Lines during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $950,000. 69.93% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Delta Air Lines Stock Down 2.8 %

Shares of NYSE DAL opened at $42.38 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $27.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.95, a PEG ratio of 0.75 and a beta of 1.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 0.37 and a quick ratio of 0.32. Delta Air Lines, Inc. has a one year low of $37.29 and a one year high of $69.98. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $57.98 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $58.36.

Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL) last issued its earnings results on Friday, January 10th. The transportation company reported $1.85 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.76 by $0.09. Delta Air Lines had a net margin of 5.61% and a return on equity of 30.41%. The company had revenue of $15.56 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.20 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.28 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 9.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts expect that Delta Air Lines, Inc. will post 7.63 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Delta Air Lines Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 20th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 27th were issued a dividend of $0.15 per share. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.42%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 27th. Delta Air Lines’s dividend payout ratio is presently 11.26%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have commented on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “hold” rating and issued a $46.00 price target (down from $85.00) on shares of Delta Air Lines in a report on Tuesday. UBS Group dropped their price objective on Delta Air Lines from $90.00 to $77.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. StockNews.com lowered Delta Air Lines from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 25th. Citigroup dropped their price target on Delta Air Lines from $80.00 to $72.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, March 18th. Finally, TD Cowen upped their price objective on shares of Delta Air Lines from $78.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Delta Air Lines presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $74.29.

Insider Activity at Delta Air Lines

In related news, CEO Edward H. Bastian sold 91,710 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.85, for a total transaction of $6,405,943.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 439,819 shares in the company, valued at $30,721,357.15. This represents a 17.25 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, SVP William C. Carroll sold 8,400 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $66.02, for a total transaction of $554,568.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 19,756 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,304,291.12. This trade represents a 29.83 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 162,886 shares of company stock worth $11,116,463 in the last ninety days. 0.96% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Delta Air Lines 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.