Principal Financial Group Inc. Sells 11,746 Shares of Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL)

Principal Financial Group Inc. decreased its stake in shares of Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL - Free Report) by 1.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 731,027 shares of the transportation company's stock after selling 11,746 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned about 0.11% of Delta Air Lines worth $44,227,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in DAL. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. raised its position in shares of Delta Air Lines by 5.4% in the 3rd quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. now owns 268,636 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $13,644,000 after purchasing an additional 13,802 shares during the last quarter. KBC Group NV increased its stake in Delta Air Lines by 143.7% during the 3rd quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 56,611 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $2,876,000 after purchasing an additional 33,378 shares in the last quarter. Olstein Capital Management L.P. raised its holdings in Delta Air Lines by 32.6% in the third quarter. Olstein Capital Management L.P. now owns 175,000 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $8,888,000 after buying an additional 43,000 shares during the last quarter. Donoghue Forlines LLC bought a new position in shares of Delta Air Lines in the fourth quarter worth approximately $2,036,000. Finally, River Road Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Delta Air Lines by 22.8% in the third quarter. River Road Asset Management LLC now owns 130,608 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $6,634,000 after buying an additional 24,249 shares in the last quarter. 69.93% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Delta Air Lines from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on Delta Air Lines from $58.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, November 11th. UBS Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $88.00 price target on shares of Delta Air Lines in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price objective on Delta Air Lines from $60.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Finally, Citigroup upped their target price on shares of Delta Air Lines from $65.00 to $76.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. Fourteen analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Delta Air Lines has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $78.22.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Rahul D. Samant sold 38,023 shares of the business's 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 52,789 shares in the company, valued at $3,425,478.21. The trade was a 41.87 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Edward H. Bastian sold 91,710 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.85, for a total value of $6,405,943.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 439,819 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $30,721,357.15. This trade represents a 17.25 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 162,886 shares of company stock valued at $11,116,463. Company insiders own 0.96% of the company's stock.

Delta Air Lines Stock Performance

DAL stock traded down $3.87 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $59.88. 12,789,636 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 8,309,664. The stock's 50-day moving average is $64.31 and its 200 day moving average is $56.16. The stock has a market cap of $38.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.23, a PEG ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 1.36. Delta Air Lines, Inc. has a 52-week low of $37.29 and a 52-week high of $69.98. The company has a current ratio of 0.37, a quick ratio of 0.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92.

Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL - Get Free Report) last announced 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 return on equity of 30.41% and a net margin of 5.61%. The company had revenue of $15.56 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $14.20 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.28 EPS. Delta Air Lines's revenue for the quarter was up 9.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts anticipate that Delta Air Lines, Inc. will post 7.63 EPS for the current year.

Delta Air Lines Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 20th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 27th will be paid a dividend of $0.15 per share. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.00%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 27th. Delta Air Lines's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 11.26%.

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.