Act Two Investors LLC Acquires 21,146 Shares of SLM Co. (NASDAQ:SLM)

Act Two Investors LLC raised its holdings in SLM Co. (NASDAQ:SLM - Free Report) by 36.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 79,160 shares of the credit services provider's stock after buying an additional 21,146 shares during the quarter. SLM comprises 0.4% of Act Two Investors LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 29th largest position. Act Two Investors LLC's holdings in SLM were worth $2,183,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in SLM. Private Trust Co. NA boosted its stake in SLM by 86.4% during the fourth quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 971 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 450 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. raised its stake in SLM by 32.2% during the fourth 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 last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new stake in SLM in the fourth quarter worth $86,000. Plato Investment Management Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of SLM in the fourth quarter worth $114,000. Finally, Jones Financial Companies Lllp raised its position in shares of SLM by 489.7% in the 4th quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 4,476 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $123,000 after purchasing an additional 3,717 shares during the last quarter. 98.94% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other SLM 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 transaction of $1,142,800.00. Following the completion of 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Company insiders own 1.20% of the company's stock.

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Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have issued reports on SLM shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on shares of SLM from $30.00 to $27.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Compass Point lifted their target price on SLM from $31.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on SLM from $32.00 to $33.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on SLM from $32.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on shares of SLM from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $31.18.

SLM Price Performance

SLM traded up $0.55 on Tuesday, hitting $26.65. 1,728,158 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,169,215. SLM Co. has a one year low of $19.39 and a one year high of $32.65. The company has a current ratio of 1.32, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.37. The firm has a market cap of $5.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.06, a P/E/G ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 1.05. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $29.09 and its 200-day simple moving average is $26.92.

SLM (NASDAQ:SLM - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 23rd. The credit services provider reported $0.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.56 by ($0.06). SLM had a net margin of 20.73% and a return on equity of 31.66%. As a group, research analysts anticipate that SLM Co. will post 3.07 EPS for the current year.

SLM Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 5th were issued a dividend of $0.13 per share. This represents a $0.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.95%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 5th. SLM's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 19.62%.

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.