Barclays PLC Grows Holdings in SLM Co. (NASDAQ:SLM)

Barclays PLC increased its holdings in shares of SLM Co. (NASDAQ:SLM - Free Report) by 5.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 289,035 shares of the credit services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 15,250 shares during the period. Barclays PLC owned approximately 0.14% of SLM worth $7,972,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in SLM. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC bought a new position in SLM during the fourth quarter valued at about $140,442,000. Norges Bank acquired a new position in SLM during the fourth quarter worth $68,603,000. FMR LLC increased its position in shares of SLM by 39.0% during the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 7,529,496 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $207,664,000 after purchasing an additional 2,111,699 shares in the last quarter. Pertento Partners LLP bought a new position in shares of SLM in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $48,451,000. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP raised its position in SLM by 470.6% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,126,756 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $31,076,000 after purchasing an additional 929,292 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.94% of the company's stock.

SLM Trading Down 1.4 %

Shares of NASDAQ:SLM traded down $0.39 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $27.75. The company's stock had a trading volume of 3,228,947 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,199,408. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $28.48 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $27.16. SLM Co. has a fifty-two week low of $19.39 and a fifty-two week high of $32.65. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.47, a PEG ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.37, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a current ratio of 1.32.

SLM (NASDAQ:SLM - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The credit services provider reported $1.40 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.19 by $0.21. SLM had a net margin of 20.73% and a return on equity of 31.66%. The firm had revenue of $374.97 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $359.83 million. As a group, analysts forecast that SLM Co. will post 3.07 earnings per share for the current year.

SLM Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 16th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, June 5th will be given a $0.13 dividend. This represents a $0.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.87%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, June 5th. SLM's payout ratio is 19.62%.

Insider Buying and Selling at SLM

In related news, Director Robert S. Strong sold 40,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the director now owns 43,163 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,233,166.91. This represents a 48.10 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 1.20% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

SLM has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of SLM from $34.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on SLM from $30.00 to $27.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on shares of SLM from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Compass Point boosted 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. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on SLM from $32.00 to $33.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, SLM has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $30.73.

SLM Company 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.