Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund Decreases Position in SLM Co. (NASDAQ:SLM)

Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund trimmed its stake in shares of SLM Co. (NASDAQ:SLM) by 1.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 43,243 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 800 shares during the period. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund’s holdings in SLM were worth $1,193,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. True Wealth Design LLC purchased a new position in shares of SLM during the third quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Blue Trust Inc. raised its holdings in shares of SLM by 358.7% during the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,399 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 1,094 shares during the last quarter. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new position in shares of SLM during the third quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new stake in SLM during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $86,000. Finally, Covestor Ltd grew its position in SLM by 110.3% during the third quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 4,404 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $101,000 after buying an additional 2,310 shares during the period. 98.94% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

SLM has been the subject of several recent research reports. Compass Point boosted their target price on shares of SLM from $31.00 to $34.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of SLM from $34.00 to $38.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on shares of SLM from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of SLM from $29.00 to $30.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of SLM from $32.00 to $33.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $30.91.

SLM Stock Performance

SLM opened at $30.19 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $6.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.39, a PEG ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 1.22. SLM Co. has a 1-year low of $19.39 and a 1-year high of $32.65. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $28.95 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $25.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.37, a current ratio of 1.32 and a quick ratio of 1.27.

SLM (NASDAQ:SLM) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The credit services provider reported $0.50 earnings per share 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 analysts forecast that SLM Co. will post 3.07 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

SLM Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 5th will be paid a dividend of $0.13 per share. This represents a $0.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.72%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 5th. SLM’s payout ratio is 19.62%.

Insider Activity at SLM

In related news, Director Robert S. Strong sold 40,000 shares of the company’s 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 sale, the director now owns 43,163 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,233,166.91. This represents a 48.10 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 1.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.