State of Alaska Department of Revenue Cuts Stock Position in SLM Co. (NASDAQ:SLM)

State of Alaska Department of Revenue lessened its position in SLM Co. (NASDAQ:SLM) by 5.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 24,217 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 1,400 shares during the quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue’s holdings in SLM were worth $667,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Blue Trust Inc. lifted 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 valued at $51,000 after purchasing an additional 450 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its holdings in shares of SLM by 4.8% in the 3rd quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 11,594 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $265,000 after purchasing an additional 526 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its holdings in shares of SLM by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 33,825 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $933,000 after purchasing an additional 552 shares during the last quarter. Creative Planning lifted its holdings in shares of SLM by 5.3% in the 3rd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 18,708 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $428,000 after purchasing an additional 942 shares during the last quarter. Finally, US Bancorp DE lifted its holdings in shares of SLM by 12.3% in the 3rd quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 9,368 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $214,000 after purchasing an additional 1,029 shares during the last quarter. 98.94% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Robert S. Strong sold 40,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 1.20% of the company’s stock.

SLM Stock Performance

Shares of SLM stock opened at $31.43 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $6.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.81 and a beta of 1.22. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $28.17 and a 200-day simple moving average of $24.57. SLM Co. has a 12-month low of $19.39 and a 12-month high of $31.49. 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) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The credit services provider reported $0.50 earnings per share (EPS) 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%. On average, equities analysts forecast that SLM Co. will post 3.07 EPS for the current year.

SLM Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 5th will be issued a $0.13 dividend. This represents a $0.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.65%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 5th. SLM’s dividend payout ratio is currently 19.62%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Compass Point boosted their target price on SLM from $31.00 to $34.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on SLM from $26.00 to $32.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on SLM from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $26.00 price objective on shares of SLM in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on SLM from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $29.82.

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.