California Public Employees Retirement System Has $68.92 Million Stock Position in Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL)

California Public Employees Retirement System cut its position in Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL) by 5.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,139,230 shares of the transportation company’s stock after selling 62,534 shares during the period. California Public Employees Retirement System owned 0.18% of Delta Air Lines worth $68,923,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Rahul D. Samant sold 38,023 shares of Delta Air Lines stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.89, for a total value of $2,467,312.47. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 52,789 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,425,478.21. This trade represents a 41.87 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP William C. Carroll sold 8,400 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.02, for a total transaction of $554,568.00. Following 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 162,886 shares of company stock valued at $11,116,463. 0.96% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Delta Air Lines Stock Down 2.8 %

DAL stock opened at $42.38 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $27.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.95, a P/E/G ratio of 0.75 and a beta of 1.34. The company has a current ratio of 0.37, a quick ratio of 0.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $57.98 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $58.36. Delta Air Lines, Inc. has a 1-year low of $37.29 and a 1-year high of $69.98.

Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 10th. The transportation company reported $1.85 earnings per share 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 the consensus estimate of $14.20 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.28 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 9.4% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Delta Air Lines, Inc. will post 7.63 EPS for the current year.

Delta Air Lines Announces Dividend

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have weighed in on DAL. Citigroup dropped their price objective on shares of Delta Air Lines from $80.00 to $72.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 18th. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “hold” rating and issued a $46.00 price target (down previously from $85.00) on shares of Delta Air Lines in a research report on Tuesday. Barclays cut their price target on Delta Air Lines from $90.00 to $80.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. TD Cowen increased their price objective on Delta Air Lines from $78.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Finally, Susquehanna lifted their target price on Delta Air Lines from $59.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Delta Air Lines presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $74.29.

About Delta Air Lines

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.