SLM Corporation (NASDAQ:SLM) Shares Acquired by Teacher Retirement System of Texas

Teacher Retirement System of Texas increased its holdings in SLM Corporation (NASDAQ:SLM - Free Report) by 152.7% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 29,434 shares of the credit services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 17,786 shares during the quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas' holdings in SLM were worth $864,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Capital Research Global Investors purchased a new position in shares of SLM in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $144,101,000. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC purchased a new position in shares of SLM in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $140,442,000. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of SLM in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $76,362,000. Duquesne Family Office LLC purchased a new position in shares of SLM in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $69,509,000. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of SLM in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $68,603,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.94% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at SLM

In other news, Director Robert S. Strong sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $31.15, for a total transaction of $93,450.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 35,195 shares in the company, valued at $1,096,324.25. This represents a 7.85% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Company insiders own 1.30% of the company's stock.

SLM Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ SLM opened at $33.57 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.34, a quick ratio of 1.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.86. The company's 50-day moving average price is $32.71 and its 200 day moving average price is $30.04. SLM Corporation has a 52 week low of $19.39 and a 52 week high of $34.97. The stock has a market cap of $7.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.08, a PEG ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 1.09.

SLM (NASDAQ:SLM - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The credit services provider reported $1.40 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.19 by $0.21. SLM had a return on equity of 31.25% and a net margin of 21.05%. The firm had revenue of $374.97 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $359.83 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.27 EPS. SLM's quarterly revenue was up 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts forecast that SLM Corporation will post 3.07 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

SLM Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 16th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, June 5th were issued a $0.13 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, June 5th. This represents a $0.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.55%. SLM's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 18.71%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently weighed in on SLM. Morgan Stanley restated an "overweight" rating and issued a $40.00 price target (up from $33.00) on shares of SLM in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on SLM from $34.00 to $38.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. Barclays lifted their price target on SLM from $34.00 to $38.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, May 30th. Royal Bank Of Canada restated an "outperform" rating on shares of SLM in a research note on Monday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded SLM from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and lifted their price target for the company from $29.00 to $38.00 in a research note on Friday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, SLM has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $33.40.

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.

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