Teacher Retirement System of Texas lessened its position in SLM Co. (NASDAQ:SLM - Free Report) by 89.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 11,648 shares of the credit services provider's stock after selling 101,785 shares during the period. Teacher Retirement System of Texas' holdings in SLM were worth $321,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.
A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of SLM. Private Trust Co. NA raised its holdings in shares of SLM by 86.4% during the fourth quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 971 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 450 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. raised its holdings in SLM by 32.2% in the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,849 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $51,000 after purchasing an additional 450 shares in the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new stake in shares of SLM in the 4th quarter worth about $86,000. Plato Investment Management Ltd bought a new stake in shares of SLM during the 4th quarter valued at about $114,000. Finally, Jones Financial Companies Lllp increased its position in shares of SLM by 489.7% during the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 4,476 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $123,000 after buying an additional 3,717 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.94% of the company's stock.
Wall Street Analyst Weigh In
SLM has been the topic of several research reports. Barclays lifted their price objective on SLM from $34.00 to $38.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on SLM from $32.00 to $38.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on SLM from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on shares of SLM from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of SLM from $29.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, SLM currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $31.45.
Read Our Latest Report on SLM
Insider Buying and Selling
In other news, Director Robert S. Strong sold 40,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $28.57, for a total transaction of $1,142,800.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 43,163 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,233,166.91. This trade represents a 48.10 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 1.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.
SLM Stock Down 9.2 %
NASDAQ:SLM traded down $2.77 on Thursday, reaching $27.37. 3,227,290 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,101,413. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $29.63 and its 200 day simple moving average is $26.64. The company has a market capitalization of $5.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.33, a PEG ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 1.05. SLM Co. has a 12 month low of $19.39 and a 12 month high of $32.65. The company has a current ratio of 1.32, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.37.
SLM (NASDAQ:SLM - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 23rd. The credit services provider reported $0.50 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.56 by ($0.06). SLM had a return on equity of 31.66% and a net margin of 20.73%. Equities analysts predict that SLM Co. will post 3.07 EPS for the current fiscal year.
SLM Announces Dividend
The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 5th were given a dividend of $0.13 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 5th. This represents a $0.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.90%. SLM's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 19.62%.
About SLM
(
Free Report)
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.
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