SLM Co. (NASDAQ:SLM) Shares Sold by New York State Common Retirement Fund

New York State Common Retirement Fund lessened its position in SLM Co. (NASDAQ:SLM) by 5.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 225,764 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 13,600 shares during the period. New York State Common Retirement Fund owned approximately 0.11% of SLM worth $6,227,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of SLM. State Street Corp grew its stake in shares of SLM by 0.6% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 6,923,576 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $158,342,000 after purchasing an additional 43,927 shares in the last quarter. Quest Partners LLC acquired a new stake in SLM in the third quarter worth about $623,000. Edgestream Partners L.P. bought a new position in SLM in the 3rd quarter valued at about $3,250,000. Advantage Alpha Capital Partners LP increased its stake in SLM by 62.9% during the 3rd quarter. Advantage Alpha Capital Partners LP now owns 177,840 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $4,067,000 after buying an additional 68,642 shares during the period. Finally, Quantbot Technologies LP bought a new stake in shares of SLM during the 3rd quarter worth about $268,000. 98.94% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

SLM Trading Up 0.3 %

Shares of NASDAQ SLM opened at $30.10 on Thursday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $28.85 and a 200-day simple moving average of $25.17. The company has a market cap of $6.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.36, a P/E/G ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 1.22. SLM Co. has a 12 month low of $19.39 and a 12 month high of $32.65. The company has a quick ratio of 1.27, a current ratio of 1.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.37.

SLM (NASDAQ:SLM) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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%. Sell-side analysts predict that SLM Co. will post 3.07 EPS for the current year.

SLM Dividend Announcement

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 paid a dividend of $0.13 per share. This represents a $0.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.73%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 5th. SLM’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 19.62%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Robert S. Strong sold 40,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $28.57, for a total transaction of $1,142,800.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 43,163 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,233,166.91. The trade was a 48.10 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 1.20% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently issued reports on SLM. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on shares of SLM from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a 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 note on Tuesday, February 18th. Compass Point boosted their price objective on SLM from $31.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on SLM from $29.00 to $30.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on SLM from $32.00 to $33.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $30.91.

SLM 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.