SLM Co. (NASDAQ:SLM) Shares Sold by State of Michigan Retirement System

State of Michigan Retirement System cut its stake in SLM Co. (NASDAQ:SLM) by 2.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 50,299 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 1,300 shares during the period. State of Michigan Retirement System’s holdings in SLM were worth $1,387,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in SLM. LGT Fund Management Co Ltd. boosted its stake in SLM by 10.2% during the 4th quarter. LGT Fund Management Co Ltd. now owns 11,023 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $304,000 after purchasing an additional 1,023 shares in the last quarter. Plato Investment Management Ltd bought a new position in SLM during the fourth quarter valued at about $114,000. Jones Financial Companies Lllp grew its holdings in SLM by 489.7% during the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 4,476 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $123,000 after acquiring an additional 3,717 shares during the period. 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. Finally, Proficio Capital Partners LLC bought a new stake in SLM in the fourth quarter worth about $354,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.94% of the company’s stock.

SLM Price Performance

Shares of SLM opened at $29.46 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.37, a current ratio of 1.32 and a quick ratio of 1.27. The company has a market capitalization of $6.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.12, a P/E/G ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 1.22. The business’s 50-day moving average is $29.09 and its 200-day moving average is $25.59. SLM Co. has a fifty-two week low of $19.39 and a fifty-two week high of $32.65.

SLM (NASDAQ:SLM) last released 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%. Equities research analysts expect that SLM Co. will post 3.07 EPS for the current fiscal year.

SLM Announces Dividend

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 given a $0.13 dividend. This represents a $0.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.77%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 5th. SLM’s payout ratio is currently 19.62%.

Insider Transactions 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. Company insiders own 1.20% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on SLM. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on shares of SLM from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Compass Point upped their price target on SLM from $31.00 to $34.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on SLM from $26.00 to $32.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on SLM from $29.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on SLM from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $30.91.

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.