Bridgewater Associates LP Has $11.84 Million Holdings in SLM Co. (NASDAQ:SLM)

Bridgewater Associates LP increased its stake in shares of SLM Co. (NASDAQ:SLM - Free Report) by 15.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 429,251 shares of the credit services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 58,524 shares during the period. Bridgewater Associates LP owned 0.20% of SLM worth $11,839,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Private Trust Co. NA lifted its stake in shares of SLM by 86.4% during the fourth quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 971 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 450 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of 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. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new position in SLM in the fourth quarter valued at $86,000. Plato Investment Management Ltd acquired a new stake in SLM in the 4th quarter worth about $114,000. Finally, Jones Financial Companies Lllp increased its stake in shares of SLM by 489.7% during the 4th quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 4,476 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $123,000 after acquiring an additional 3,717 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.94% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at SLM

In other SLM 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 sale, the director now directly owns 43,163 shares of the company's stock, 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 legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 1.20% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently issued reports on SLM. Wells Fargo & Company increased 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered 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. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on SLM from $32.00 to $38.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, March 10th. Compass Point increased their target price on SLM from $31.00 to $34.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Finally, 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 report on Tuesday, February 18th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $31.18.

SLM Price Performance

Shares of SLM stock traded up $0.45 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $26.49. 510,582 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,177,110. 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 $28.79 and its 200-day moving average is $27.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.37, a current ratio of 1.32 and a quick ratio of 1.27. The stock has a market cap of $5.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 1.05.

SLM (NASDAQ:SLM - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results 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%. As a group, research analysts forecast that SLM Co. will post 3.07 EPS for the current year.

SLM Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced 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. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 5th. This represents a $0.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.96%. SLM's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 19.62%.

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.