Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky Reduces Holdings in SLM Co. (NASDAQ:SLM)

Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky reduced its stake in SLM Co. (NASDAQ:SLM) by 21.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 750,081 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 206,870 shares during the quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky owned 0.34% of SLM worth $14,341,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Neo Ivy Capital Management purchased a new position in SLM in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Quarry LP lifted its position in shares of SLM by 78.6% during the 4th quarter. Quarry LP now owns 2,962 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $57,000 after purchasing an additional 1,304 shares during the last quarter. Oracle Alpha Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of SLM during the 4th quarter worth $349,000. HST Ventures LLC lifted its position in shares of SLM by 98.8% during the 4th quarter. HST Ventures LLC now owns 574,965 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $10,993,000 after purchasing an additional 285,791 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Caxton Associates LP lifted its position in shares of SLM by 127.6% during the 4th quarter. Caxton Associates LP now owns 149,762 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $2,863,000 after purchasing an additional 83,952 shares during the last quarter. 98.94% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

SLM Price Performance

SLM stock traded down $0.61 during trading on Friday, reaching $20.03. 1,214,496 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,625,036. SLM Co. has a 52-week low of $12.26 and a 52-week high of $22.74. The company has a market cap of $4.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.26, a PEG ratio of 0.40 and a beta of 1.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.67, a quick ratio of 1.23 and a current ratio of 1.23. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $21.12 and its 200 day moving average price is $20.01.

SLM (NASDAQ:SLM) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The credit services provider reported $1.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.09 by $0.18. SLM had a net margin of 25.15% and a return on equity of 45.65%. The company had revenue of $837.72 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $376.43 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.47 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that SLM Co. will post 2.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

SLM Dividend Announcement

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 issued a $0.11 dividend. This represents a $0.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.20%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, June 6th. SLM’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 13.75%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently commented on SLM. Wedbush reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $28.00 price target on shares of SLM in a research note on Thursday, May 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of SLM from $22.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. TD Cowen lifted their price target on shares of SLM from $25.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 4th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on shares of SLM from $24.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of SLM from $22.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $22.18.

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.