Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL) Shares Sold by New York State Common Retirement Fund

New York State Common Retirement Fund lowered its stake in shares of Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL - Free Report) by 12.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 413,709 shares of the transportation company's stock after selling 60,010 shares during the period. New York State Common Retirement Fund owned approximately 0.06% of Delta Air Lines worth $16,644,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Morgan Stanley raised its holdings in shares of Delta Air Lines by 8.7% in the 3rd quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 10,839,122 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $401,048,000 after purchasing an additional 865,746 shares during the period. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Delta Air Lines by 17.1% in the 3rd quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. now owns 5,091,528 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $188,514,000 after purchasing an additional 743,882 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp raised its holdings in shares of Delta Air Lines by 3.0% in the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 4,966,330 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $183,754,000 after purchasing an additional 145,513 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Delta Air Lines by 27.0% in the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 4,813,848 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $178,112,000 after purchasing an additional 1,022,957 shares during the period. Finally, U S Global Investors Inc. raised its holdings in Delta Air Lines by 21.1% during the 4th quarter. U S Global Investors Inc. now owns 4,434,509 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $178,400,000 after acquiring an additional 773,636 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 69.93% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Delta Air Lines news, President Glen W. Hauenstein sold 100,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, April 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $49.05, for a total value of $4,905,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the president now owns 217,584 shares in the company, valued at $10,672,495.20. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, President Glen W. Hauenstein sold 100,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, April 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $49.05, for a total value of $4,905,000.00. Following the sale, the president now directly owns 217,584 shares of the company's stock, valued at $10,672,495.20. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Alain Bellemare sold 24,073 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $48.86, for a total value of $1,176,206.78. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 141,451 shares in the company, valued at $6,911,295.86. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 195,913 shares of company stock worth $8,897,335. 0.89% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Susquehanna boosted their target price on shares of Delta Air Lines from $47.00 to $54.00 and gave the company a "positive" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 9th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their target price on shares of Delta Air Lines from $50.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. UBS Group began coverage on shares of Delta Air Lines in a research report on Wednesday, March 20th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $59.00 target price for the company. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and set a $85.00 price objective on shares of Delta Air Lines in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Finally, TheStreet upgraded Delta Air Lines from a "c+" rating to a "b-" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 4th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Delta Air Lines has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $58.29.

Delta Air Lines Trading Up 1.1 %

Shares of Delta Air Lines stock traded up $0.53 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $50.46. 9,926,461 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 10,870,399. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $45.03 and a 200-day moving average of $40.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.48, a quick ratio of 0.36 and a current ratio of 0.41. The company has a market cap of $32.56 billion, a PE ratio of 6.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.75 and a beta of 1.43. Delta Air Lines, Inc. has a 12 month low of $30.60 and a 12 month high of $50.74.

Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 11th. The transportation company reported $0.45 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.36 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $13.75 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $12.51 billion. Delta Air Lines had a return on equity of 41.89% and a net margin of 8.48%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 7.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.25 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that Delta Air Lines, Inc. will post 6.52 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Delta Air Lines Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 4th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 14th will be issued a $0.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 13th. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.79%. Delta Air Lines's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 5.14%.

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.