Louisiana State Employees Retirement System Invests $1.22 Million in SLM Co. (NASDAQ:SLM)

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System bought a new position in shares of SLM Co. (NASDAQ:SLM - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 63,600 shares of the credit services provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,216,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in SLM. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its stake in shares of SLM by 967.5% in the 3rd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 2,923,491 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $39,818,000 after purchasing an additional 2,649,626 shares during the period. Goldentree Asset Management LP raised its stake in shares of SLM by 9.1% in the 3rd quarter. Goldentree Asset Management LP now owns 4,282,732 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $58,331,000 after purchasing an additional 357,235 shares during the period. Algert Global LLC acquired a new stake in shares of SLM in the 3rd quarter valued at about $4,131,000. Jump Financial LLC increased its position in shares of SLM by 1,100.2% in the third quarter. Jump Financial LLC now owns 262,897 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $3,581,000 after acquiring an additional 240,993 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. increased its position in shares of SLM by 26.3% in the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,020,173 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $13,895,000 after acquiring an additional 212,485 shares during the last quarter. 98.94% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

SLM Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:SLM traded up $0.61 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $21.93. 1,560,910 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,147,675. SLM Co. has a 12 month low of $12.26 and a 12 month high of $21.99. The firm has a market cap of $4.83 billion, a PE ratio of 9.14, a PEG ratio of 0.43 and a beta of 1.16. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $20.84 and a 200-day moving average price of $18.12. The company has a current ratio of 1.22, a quick ratio of 1.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.21.

SLM (NASDAQ:SLM - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 30th. The credit services provider reported $0.72 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.87 by ($0.15). SLM had a return on equity of 36.86% and a net margin of 20.65%. The firm had revenue of $725.66 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $379.20 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned ($0.33) EPS. Research analysts expect that SLM Co. will post 2.72 EPS for the current fiscal year.

SLM announced that its board has authorized a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, January 24th that allows the company to buyback $650.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization allows the credit services provider to repurchase up to 14.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically a sign that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

SLM Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 17th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, June 6th will be issued a dividend of $0.11 per share. This represents a $0.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.01%. SLM's dividend payout ratio is presently 18.33%.

Insider Transactions at SLM

In related news, EVP Donna F. Vieira sold 12,308 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 $2,564,155. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In related news, EVP Donna F. Vieira sold 12,308 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 $2,564,155. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Jonathan Boyles sold 94,078 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.72, for a total value of $1,949,296.16. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 52,751 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,093,000.72. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.91% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the company. TheStreet raised SLM from a "c+" rating to a "b" rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 24th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on SLM from $22.00 to $24.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 18th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft assumed coverage on SLM in a research report on Wednesday, January 10th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $25.00 target price on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on SLM from $21.00 to $22.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 25th. Finally, Citigroup raised SLM from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $14.00 to $23.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 16th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $20.32.

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.