SLM Co. (NASDAQ:SLM) Stock Holdings Cut by Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS

Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS cut its position in shares of SLM Co. (NASDAQ:SLM) by 2.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 46,894 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 1,042 shares during the quarter. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS’s holdings in SLM were worth $1,293,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Private Trust Co. NA grew its holdings in SLM by 86.4% during the fourth quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 971 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 450 shares during the period. True Wealth Design LLC acquired a new position in shares of SLM in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $31,000. Blue Trust Inc. raised its holdings in shares of 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 bought a new stake in SLM during the fourth quarter worth approximately $86,000. Finally, Plato Investment Management Ltd acquired a new position in SLM in the fourth quarter worth approximately $114,000. Institutional investors own 98.94% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently commented on SLM. Compass Point increased their price objective on SLM from $31.00 to $34.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Barclays increased their price target 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 boosted their price objective on SLM from $32.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, March 10th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on shares of SLM from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of SLM from $32.00 to $33.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $31.45.

Insider Activity at SLM

In other news, Director Robert S. Strong sold 40,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the director now owns 43,163 shares in the company, valued at $1,233,166.91. This represents a 48.10 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 1.20% of the company’s stock.

SLM Stock Down 1.2 %

SLM stock opened at $30.04 on Wednesday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $29.51 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $26.29. The firm has a market cap of $6.32 billion, a PE ratio of 11.34, a P/E/G ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 1.23. SLM Co. has a twelve month low of $19.39 and a twelve month high of $32.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.37, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a current ratio of 1.32.

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

SLM Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 5th were issued a $0.13 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 5th. This represents a $0.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.73%. SLM’s dividend payout ratio is currently 19.62%.

SLM Company Profile

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.