New York State Teachers Retirement System Sells 752 Shares of SLM Co. (NASDAQ:SLM)

New York State Teachers Retirement System decreased its position in shares of SLM Co. (NASDAQ:SLM) by 0.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 353,035 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 752 shares during the quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System’s holdings in SLM were worth $6,750,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in SLM by 1,812.0% during the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 55,391 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $1,059,000 after acquiring an additional 52,494 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. grew its stake in SLM by 81.4% during the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,328 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 596 shares during the period. Vest Financial LLC bought a new stake in SLM in the fourth quarter worth approximately $249,000. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its stake in SLM by 20.8% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 267,384 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $3,642,000 after buying an additional 46,032 shares during the period. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of SLM by 8.9% during the 3rd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 2,570,065 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $35,004,000 after buying an additional 209,632 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 98.94% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Jonathan Boyles sold 94,078 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.72, for a total value of $1,949,296.16. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 52,751 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,093,000.72. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other SLM news, SVP Jonathan Boyles sold 94,078 shares of SLM stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.72, for a total value of $1,949,296.16. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 52,751 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,093,000.72. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Donna F. Vieira sold 12,308 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.27, for a total transaction of $249,483.16. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 126,500 shares in the company, valued at $2,564,155. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.91% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently weighed in on SLM shares. TheStreet upgraded shares of SLM from a “c+” rating to a “b” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 24th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft initiated coverage on shares of SLM in a report on Wednesday, January 10th. They set a “buy” rating and a $25.00 price objective on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on SLM from $21.00 to $22.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 25th. Citigroup raised SLM from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $14.00 to $23.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 16th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on SLM from $20.00 to $22.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. Three 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.com, SLM presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $19.95.

SLM Stock Down 1.6 %

Shares of NASDAQ:SLM opened at $20.67 on Friday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $20.62 and its 200 day moving average is $17.68. SLM Co. has a 12-month low of $12.26 and a 12-month high of $21.94. The stock has a market cap of $4.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.61, a PEG ratio of 0.43 and a beta of 1.16. The company has a quick ratio of 1.22, a current ratio of 1.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.21.

SLM (NASDAQ:SLM) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 30th. The credit services provider reported $0.72 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.87 by ($0.15). The firm had revenue of $725.66 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $379.20 million. SLM had a return on equity of 36.86% and a net margin of 20.65%. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned ($0.33) earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that SLM Co. will post 2.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

SLM declared that its board has authorized a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, January 24th that permits the company to buyback $650.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization permits the credit services provider to reacquire up to 14.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

SLM Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 4th were paid a $0.11 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 1st. This represents a $0.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.13%. SLM’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 18.33%.

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.