Strs Ohio Has $1.22 Million Stake in SLM Co. (NASDAQ:SLM)

Strs Ohio decreased its holdings in SLM Co. (NASDAQ:SLM) by 12.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 63,925 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 9,150 shares during the quarter. Strs Ohio’s holdings in SLM were worth $1,222,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Sapient Capital LLC acquired a new stake in SLM in the 4th quarter worth about $1,785,000. Quantbot Technologies LP acquired a new stake in SLM in the 3rd quarter worth about $713,000. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale raised its stake in SLM by 25.5% in the 3rd quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 155,595 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $2,092,000 after purchasing an additional 31,595 shares in the last quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund raised its stake in SLM by 31.2% in the 3rd quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 684,103 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $9,317,000 after purchasing an additional 162,853 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Caxton Associates LP acquired a new stake in SLM in the 3rd quarter worth about $896,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.94% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at SLM

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

SLM Trading Up 1.1 %

Shares of SLM stock opened at $21.32 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.70 billion, a PE ratio of 8.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.43 and a beta of 1.16. The company has a current ratio of 1.22, a quick ratio of 1.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.21. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $20.79 and its 200 day moving average is $18.06. SLM Co. has a 1 year low of $12.26 and a 1 year high of $21.94.

SLM (NASDAQ:SLM) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 30th. The credit services provider reported $0.72 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.87 by ($0.15). The company had revenue of $725.66 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $379.20 million. SLM had a net margin of 20.65% and a return on equity of 36.86%. During the same period last year, the firm posted ($0.33) earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that SLM Co. will post 2.72 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

SLM announced that its board has authorized a stock buyback 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 repurchase up to 14.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

SLM Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 17th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, June 6th will be given a $0.11 dividend. This represents a $0.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.06%. SLM’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 18.33%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

SLM has been the subject of several analyst reports. Citigroup upgraded shares of SLM from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $14.00 to $23.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 16th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of SLM from $22.00 to $24.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 18th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on shares of SLM from $21.00 to $22.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of SLM from $20.00 to $22.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft started coverage on shares of SLM in a research report on Wednesday, January 10th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $25.00 target price for the company. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $20.32.

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.