AlphaQuest LLC Grows Stake in SLM Co. (NASDAQ:SLM)

AlphaQuest LLC boosted its position in shares of SLM Co. (NASDAQ:SLM - Free Report) by 32.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 36,101 shares of the credit services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 8,879 shares during the quarter. AlphaQuest LLC's holdings in SLM were worth $996,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its holdings in SLM by 32.2% in the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,849 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $51,000 after purchasing an additional 450 shares during the period. Private Trust Co. NA raised its position in SLM by 86.4% in the 4th quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 971 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 450 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its stake in shares of SLM by 4.8% in the 3rd quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 11,594 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $265,000 after buying an additional 526 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC grew its position in shares of SLM by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 33,825 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $933,000 after buying an additional 552 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Truist Financial Corp increased its stake in shares of SLM by 11.9% during the fourth quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 9,052 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $250,000 after buying an additional 960 shares during the period. 98.94% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on SLM. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of SLM from $29.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on shares of SLM from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on SLM from $32.00 to $33.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on SLM from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Compass Point increased their price target 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. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, SLM currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $31.45.

Insider Transactions at SLM

In other news, Director Robert S. Strong sold 40,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $28.57, for a total transaction of $1,142,800.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 43,163 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,233,166.91. This represents a 48.10 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 1.20% of the company's stock.

SLM Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:SLM traded up $0.31 on Wednesday, reaching $28.76. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,074,848 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,780,974. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.37, a current ratio of 1.32 and a quick ratio of 1.27. SLM Co. has a 52-week low of $19.39 and a 52-week high of $32.65. The stock's 50-day moving average is $29.13 and its two-hundred day moving average is $25.72. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.87, a PEG ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 1.23.

SLM (NASDAQ:SLM - Get Free Report) last announced its 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 net margin of 20.73% and a return on equity of 31.66%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that SLM Co. will post 3.07 EPS for the current year.

SLM Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 5th will be issued a $0.13 dividend. This represents a $0.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.81%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 5th. SLM's payout ratio is 19.62%.

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.