Retirement Systems of Alabama Has $5.42 Million Stake in SLM Co. (NASDAQ:SLM)

Retirement Systems of Alabama increased its position in shares of SLM Co. (NASDAQ:SLM) by 0.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 283,392 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,105 shares during the quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama owned about 0.13% of SLM worth $5,418,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of SLM. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its stake in SLM by 81.4% during the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,328 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 596 shares during the last quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. bought a new position in SLM during the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. Headlands Technologies LLC boosted its stake in SLM by 46.4% during the 4th quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC now owns 2,330 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $45,000 after acquiring an additional 739 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC bought a new position in SLM during the 4th quarter worth approximately $76,000. Finally, Parkside Financial Bank & Trust boosted its stake in SLM by 10.4% during the 3rd quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 9,033 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $123,000 after acquiring an additional 851 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 98.94% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other SLM news, SVP Jonathan Boyles sold 94,078 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.72, for a total value of $1,949,296.16. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 52,751 shares in the company, valued at $1,093,000.72. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.91% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have weighed in on SLM. TheStreet raised shares of SLM from a “c+” rating to a “b” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 24th. Wedbush lifted their price target on shares of SLM from $26.00 to $28.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of SLM from $22.00 to $23.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft began coverage on shares of SLM in a research note on Wednesday, January 10th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $25.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on shares of SLM from $24.00 to $25.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $21.32.

SLM Price Performance

Shares of SLM opened at $22.01 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $4.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.88, a PEG ratio of 0.44 and a beta of 1.17. SLM Co. has a 1-year low of $12.26 and a 1-year high of $22.37. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $21.10 and its 200 day simple moving average is $18.55. The company has a current ratio of 1.23, a quick ratio of 1.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.67.

SLM (NASDAQ:SLM) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The credit services provider reported $1.27 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.09 by $0.18. The business had revenue of $837.72 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $376.43 million. SLM had a net margin of 25.15% and a return on equity of 45.65%. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.47 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that SLM Co. will post 2.75 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

SLM declared that its board has approved a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, January 24th that authorizes the company to repurchase $650.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the credit services provider to purchase up to 14.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

SLM Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 17th. Investors of record on Thursday, June 6th will be issued a dividend of $0.11 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, June 5th. This represents a $0.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.00%. SLM’s payout ratio is 13.75%.

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.