Amundi Increases Stock Holdings in SLM Co. (NASDAQ:SLM)

Amundi raised its holdings in shares of SLM Co. (NASDAQ:SLM - Free Report) by 103.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 135,014 shares of the credit services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 68,632 shares during the quarter. Amundi owned approximately 0.06% of SLM worth $3,712,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Private Trust Co. NA lifted its holdings in shares of SLM by 86.4% in the fourth quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 971 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 450 shares in the last quarter. True Wealth Design LLC purchased a new stake in shares of SLM in the third quarter worth about $31,000. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of SLM by 32.2% in the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,849 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $51,000 after buying an additional 450 shares in the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new stake in shares of SLM in the fourth quarter worth about $86,000. Finally, Plato Investment Management Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of SLM in the fourth quarter worth about $114,000. 98.94% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at SLM

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

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Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently weighed in on SLM. Compass Point upped their price objective on shares of SLM from $31.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on shares of SLM from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective 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. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of SLM from $32.00 to $33.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Barclays upped their price objective on shares of SLM from $34.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $31.45.

SLM Trading Down 0.8 %

Shares of SLM stock traded down $0.24 on Thursday, hitting $29.87. The stock had a trading volume of 3,640,089 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,949,879. The company has a quick ratio of 1.27, a current ratio of 1.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.37. SLM Co. has a one year low of $19.39 and a one year high of $32.65. The stock has a market cap of $6.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.27, a PEG ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 1.23. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $29.29 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $26.01.

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

SLM Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 5th were issued a $0.13 dividend. This represents a $0.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.74%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 5th. SLM's dividend 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.