Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL) Shares Sold by Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund

Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund decreased its holdings in Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL - Free Report) by 38.2% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 18,731 shares of the transportation company's stock after selling 11,566 shares during the quarter. Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund's holdings in Delta Air Lines were worth $817,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Boston Partners purchased a new position in shares of Delta Air Lines in the fourth quarter valued at $328,398,000. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Delta Air Lines during the 4th quarter valued at about $152,342,000. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. raised its position in Delta Air Lines by 405.3% during the fourth quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. now owns 3,054,285 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $184,784,000 after acquiring an additional 2,449,874 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Delta Air Lines by 29.3% in the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 9,955,818 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $602,327,000 after purchasing an additional 2,254,560 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sanders Capital LLC grew its position in shares of Delta Air Lines by 6.9% in the fourth quarter. Sanders Capital LLC now owns 29,764,524 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $1,800,754,000 after purchasing an additional 1,922,932 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 69.93% of the company's stock.

Delta Air Lines Stock Up 1.3%

Delta Air Lines stock traded up $0.66 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $49.63. 10,167,054 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 9,763,522. The company has a market cap of $32.41 billion, a PE ratio of 8.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.51. Delta Air Lines, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $34.74 and a fifty-two week high of $69.98. The company's fifty day moving average price is $47.28 and its 200-day moving average price is $53.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 0.38 and a quick ratio of 0.33.

Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 9th. The transportation company reported $0.46 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.84 by ($0.38). Delta Air Lines had a net margin of 5.91% and a return on equity of 28.18%. The firm had revenue of $12.98 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $13.85 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.45 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was down 5.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts predict that Delta Air Lines, Inc. will post 7.63 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Delta Air Lines Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 21st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 31st will be given a $0.1875 dividend. This represents a $0.75 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.51%. This is a positive change from Delta Air Lines's previous quarterly dividend of $0.15. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 31st. Delta Air Lines's dividend payout ratio is presently 10.64%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

DAL has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. TD Cowen upped their target price on Delta Air Lines from $45.00 to $50.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. Citigroup lowered their price objective on shares of Delta Air Lines from $80.00 to $72.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, March 18th. Wall Street Zen lowered Delta Air Lines from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Barclays lowered their price target on Delta Air Lines from $80.00 to $58.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price objective on Delta Air Lines from $83.00 to $60.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $61.67.

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.