Alaska Permanent Fund Corp Purchases 786 Shares of SLM Co. (NASDAQ:SLM)

Alaska Permanent Fund Corp grew its position in SLM Co. (NASDAQ:SLM) by 0.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 138,686 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 786 shares during the period. Alaska Permanent Fund Corp owned approximately 0.06% of SLM worth $2,652,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. GAMMA Investing LLC acquired a new stake in SLM during the fourth quarter worth approximately $76,000. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust grew its position in SLM by 13.6% during the fourth quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 10,266 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $196,000 after buying an additional 1,233 shares in the last quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund grew its position in SLM by 15.2% during the fourth quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 788,341 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $15,073,000 after buying an additional 104,238 shares in the last quarter. Shikiar Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in SLM during the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,434,000. Finally, Signaturefd LLC grew its position in SLM by 7.7% during the fourth quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 7,891 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $151,000 after buying an additional 565 shares in the last quarter. 98.94% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

SLM Trading Down 1.4 %

NASDAQ SLM traded down $0.32 on Thursday, reaching $21.78. The company had a trading volume of 763,524 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,124,402. The firm has a market cap of $4.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.21, a P/E/G ratio of 0.44 and a beta of 1.16. SLM Co. has a fifty-two week low of $12.26 and a fifty-two week high of $22.37. The business has a 50 day moving average of $20.87 and a two-hundred day moving average of $18.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.21, a current ratio of 1.22 and a quick ratio of 1.22.

SLM (NASDAQ:SLM) last issued its quarterly 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. SLM had a return on equity of 36.86% and a net margin of 20.65%. The firm had revenue of $837.72 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $376.43 million. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.47 EPS. Analysts forecast that SLM Co. will post 2.72 EPS for the current year.

SLM Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 17th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, June 6th will be paid a $0.11 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, June 5th. This represents a $0.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.02%. SLM’s dividend payout ratio is presently 18.33%.

SLM announced that its board has approved a share repurchase program 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 buy up to 14.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are often a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have weighed in on SLM. Wedbush upped their target price on SLM from $26.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on SLM from $20.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on SLM from $21.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 25th. Citigroup upgraded SLM from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $14.00 to $23.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 16th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft assumed coverage on SLM in a research note on Wednesday, January 10th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $25.00 price target for the company. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $20.95.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Donna F. Vieira sold 12,308 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.27, for a total value of $249,483.16. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 126,500 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,564,155. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other SLM news, SVP Jonathan Boyles sold 94,078 shares of SLM stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.72, for a total transaction of $1,949,296.16. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 52,751 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,093,000.72. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Donna F. Vieira sold 12,308 shares of SLM stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.27, for a total transaction of $249,483.16. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 126,500 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,564,155. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.91% of the stock is currently owned by company 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.