Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund Invests $406,000 in SLM Co. (NASDAQ:SLM)

Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund bought a new stake in shares of SLM Co. (NASDAQ:SLM - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 15,449 shares of the credit services provider's stock, valued at approximately $406,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in SLM. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its holdings in SLM by 32.2% in the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,849 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $51,000 after acquiring an additional 450 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its holdings in SLM by 4.8% in the third quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 11,594 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $265,000 after acquiring an additional 526 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its holdings in SLM by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 33,825 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $933,000 after acquiring an additional 552 shares in the last quarter. Creative Planning boosted its holdings in SLM by 5.3% in the third quarter. Creative Planning now owns 18,708 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $428,000 after acquiring an additional 942 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Truist Financial Corp boosted its holdings in SLM by 11.9% in the fourth quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 9,052 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $250,000 after acquiring an additional 960 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 98.94% of the company's stock.

SLM Stock Performance

Shares of SLM traded down $1.19 on Friday, reaching $30.84. 2,662,889 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,623,598. The company has a current ratio of 1.32, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.37. The stock has a market cap of $6.55 billion, a PE ratio of 11.64, a PEG ratio of 0.87 and a beta of 1.22. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $28.62 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $24.85. SLM Co. has a 52-week low of $19.39 and a 52-week high of $32.65.

SLM (NASDAQ:SLM - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The credit services provider reported $0.50 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.56 by ($0.06). SLM had a net margin of 20.73% and a return on equity of 31.66%. On average, analysts forecast that SLM Co. will post 3.07 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

SLM Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 5th will be given a $0.13 dividend. This represents a $0.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.69%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 5th. SLM's dividend payout ratio is currently 19.62%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other SLM news, Director Robert S. Strong sold 40,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $28.57, for a total value of $1,142,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 43,163 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,233,166.91. This trade represents a 48.10 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Company insiders own 1.20% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on SLM. Barclays raised their target price on SLM from $34.00 to $38.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on SLM from $26.00 to $32.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on SLM from $32.00 to $33.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Wedbush restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $26.00 target price on shares of SLM in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on SLM from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $30.91.

About SLM

SLM Corporation, through its subsidiaries, originates and services private education loans to students and their families to finance the cost of their education in the United States. It is also involved in the provision of retail deposit accounts, including certificates of deposit, money market accounts, and high-yield savings accounts; and interest-bearing omnibus accounts.