American Century Companies Inc. Acquires 338,128 Shares of SLM Co. (NASDAQ:SLM)

American Century Companies Inc. grew its holdings in SLM Co. (NASDAQ:SLM - Free Report) by 7.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 5,175,645 shares of the credit services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 338,128 shares during the quarter. American Century Companies Inc. owned 2.44% of SLM worth $142,744,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Blue Trust Inc. lifted 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 worth $51,000 after purchasing an additional 450 shares during the last quarter. Private Trust Co. NA raised 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. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its holdings in shares of SLM by 4.8% in the third quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 11,594 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $265,000 after acquiring an additional 526 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its stake in shares of SLM by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 33,825 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $933,000 after purchasing an additional 552 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Xponance Inc. boosted its stake in shares of SLM by 3.1% in the 4th quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 24,263 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $669,000 after purchasing an additional 729 shares in the last quarter. 98.94% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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SLM Stock Performance

Shares of SLM stock traded down $0.20 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $29.73. 1,678,076 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,038,738. The company has a market capitalization of $6.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.22, a P/E/G ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 1.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.37, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a current ratio of 1.32. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $29.54 and a 200 day simple moving average of $26.32. SLM Co. has a 12 month low of $19.39 and a 12 month high of $32.65.

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

SLM Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 5th were paid a dividend of $0.13 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 5th. This represents a $0.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.75%. SLM's payout ratio is currently 19.62%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

SLM has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Barclays upped their price target on shares of SLM from $34.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of SLM from $32.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, March 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of SLM from $29.00 to $30.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on SLM from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on shares of SLM from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $31.45.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other SLM news, Director Robert S. Strong sold 40,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $28.57, for a total value of $1,142,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 43,163 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,233,166.91. This trade represents a 48.10 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 1.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.