Teacher Retirement System of Texas Sells 101,785 Shares of SLM Co. (NASDAQ:SLM)

Teacher Retirement System of Texas reduced its stake in shares of SLM Co. (NASDAQ:SLM) by 89.7% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 11,648 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 101,785 shares during the period. Teacher Retirement System of Texas’ holdings in SLM were worth $321,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in SLM. Blue Trust Inc. raised its holdings in SLM by 32.2% during the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,849 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $51,000 after buying an additional 450 shares during the period. Private Trust Co. NA increased its position in SLM by 86.4% during the fourth quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 971 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 450 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its stake in shares of SLM by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 33,825 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $933,000 after acquiring an additional 552 shares during the period. Xponance Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of SLM by 3.1% in the 4th quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 24,263 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $669,000 after acquiring an additional 729 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Truist Financial Corp boosted its stake in shares of SLM by 11.9% during the 4th quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 9,052 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $250,000 after purchasing an additional 960 shares during the period. 98.94% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

SLM Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ SLM opened at $29.62 on Wednesday. SLM Co. has a 52 week low of $19.39 and a 52 week high of $32.65. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $29.64 and its 200 day moving average price is $26.61. The company has a quick ratio of 1.27, a current ratio of 1.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.37. The firm has a market cap of $6.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.18, a P/E/G ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 1.23.

SLM (NASDAQ:SLM) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The credit services provider reported $0.50 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.56 by ($0.06). SLM had a return on equity of 31.66% and a net margin of 20.73%. On average, sell-side analysts expect that SLM Co. will post 3.07 earnings per share for the current year.

SLM Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 5th were issued a $0.13 dividend. This represents a $0.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.76%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 5th. SLM’s payout ratio is currently 19.62%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

SLM has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on SLM from $29.00 to $30.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on SLM from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on SLM from $32.00 to $33.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. 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 note on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of SLM from $32.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Two 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 $31.45.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Robert S. Strong sold 40,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $28.57, for a total value of $1,142,800.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 43,163 shares in the company, valued at $1,233,166.91. This trade represents a 48.10 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Company insiders own 1.20% of the company’s stock.

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.