SLM Co. (NASDAQ:SLM) Stock Holdings Lessened by Louisiana State Employees Retirement System

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System reduced its stake in shares of SLM Co. (NASDAQ:SLM) by 2.9% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 60,300 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 1,800 shares during the period. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System’s holdings in SLM were worth $1,379,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Waldron Private Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of SLM during the third quarter valued at about $31,000. Blue Trust Inc. grew its stake 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. International Assets Investment Management LLC bought a new position in SLM in the second quarter valued at approximately $60,000. Covestor Ltd raised its holdings in SLM by 378.1% in the first quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 3,050 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $66,000 after purchasing an additional 2,412 shares during the period. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in shares of SLM by 13.3% during the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 5,077 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $116,000 after acquiring an additional 594 shares during the period. 98.94% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

SLM Stock Performance

NASDAQ:SLM opened at $21.70 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $22.04 and its 200 day simple moving average is $21.54. The stock has a market cap of $4.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.61 and a beta of 1.15. The company has a quick ratio of 1.27, a current ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.21. SLM Co. has a twelve month low of $13.52 and a twelve month high of $23.95.

SLM (NASDAQ:SLM) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The credit services provider reported ($0.23) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.07 by ($0.30). The firm had revenue of $652.64 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $363.40 million. SLM had a net margin of 22.18% and a return on equity of 35.92%. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.11 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that SLM Co. will post 2.75 EPS for the current year.

SLM Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Investors of record on Thursday, December 5th will be issued a $0.13 dividend. This represents a $0.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.40%. This is a positive change from SLM’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.11. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, December 5th. SLM’s dividend payout ratio is currently 18.12%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Wedbush reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $26.00 price objective on shares of SLM in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price objective on shares of SLM from $25.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on shares of SLM from $25.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, July 25th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $26.00 price objective on shares of SLM in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, Barclays cut their target price on shares of SLM from $27.00 to $26.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $25.45.

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.