Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado Sells 1,614 Shares of SLM Co. (NASDAQ:SLM)

Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado decreased its stake in shares of SLM Co. (NASDAQ:SLM) by 6.8% in the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 22,151 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 1,614 shares during the quarter. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado’s holdings in SLM were worth $461,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC increased its holdings in SLM by 1,373.3% during the 1st quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,326 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 1,236 shares in the last quarter. SYSTM Wealth Solutions LLC raised its position in SLM by 37.0% in the 1st quarter. SYSTM Wealth Solutions LLC now owns 1,828 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 494 shares during the last quarter. Neo Ivy Capital Management bought a new stake in SLM in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Quarry LP boosted its position in 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 acquiring an additional 1,304 shares during the last quarter. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in SLM during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $60,000. 98.94% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently commented on SLM shares. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on shares of SLM from $25.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on shares of SLM from $25.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. Bank of America started coverage on SLM in a report on Wednesday. They issued a “buy” rating and a $27.00 price objective for the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their target price on SLM from $25.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 25th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on SLM from $23.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, SLM has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $24.00.

Insider Buying and Selling at SLM

In other news, Director Robert S. Strong sold 4,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $22.70, for a total value of $102,150.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 101,093 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,294,811.10. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 1.20% of the company’s stock.

SLM Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ SLM opened at $22.25 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.66. The company has a market capitalization of $4.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.95, a P/E/G ratio of 0.43 and a beta of 1.15. SLM Co. has a 12 month low of $12.26 and a 12 month high of $23.95. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $21.48 and a 200-day moving average of $21.27.

SLM (NASDAQ:SLM) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 24th. The credit services provider reported $1.11 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.79 by $0.32. The firm had revenue of $783.28 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $368.97 million. SLM had a net margin of 24.67% and a return on equity of 41.84%. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.10 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that SLM Co. will post 2.83 EPS for the current year.

SLM Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 16th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, September 5th were issued a $0.11 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, September 5th. This represents a $0.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.98%. SLM’s dividend payout ratio is currently 13.75%.

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.