Capital Research Global Investors Acquires New Position in SLM Co. (NASDAQ:SLM)

Capital Research Global Investors acquired a new position in SLM Co. (NASDAQ:SLM - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 5,224,849 shares of the credit services provider's stock, valued at approximately $144,101,000. Capital Research Global Investors owned about 2.46% of SLM at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of SLM. Private Trust Co. NA raised its stake in SLM by 86.4% during 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 during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. raised its position 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 valued at $51,000 after buying an additional 450 shares during the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new position in shares of SLM during the fourth quarter valued at about $86,000. Plato Investment Management Ltd bought a new stake in shares of SLM in the fourth quarter valued at about $114,000. Finally, Jones Financial Companies Lllp grew its position in SLM by 489.7% during the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 4,476 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $123,000 after buying an additional 3,717 shares in the last quarter. 98.94% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have commented on the company. Barclays raised their price objective on SLM from $34.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on shares of SLM from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Compass Point boosted their price target on shares of SLM from $31.00 to $34.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on shares of SLM from $30.00 to $27.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of SLM from $32.00 to $33.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, SLM has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $30.73.

Insider Activity at SLM

In related 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 completion of the sale, the director now 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 1.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

SLM Price Performance

NASDAQ:SLM traded down $0.39 on Friday, reaching $27.75. The stock had a trading volume of 3,227,213 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,201,001. The company has a quick ratio of 1.27, a current ratio of 1.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.37. The company has a market capitalization of $5.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 1.05. SLM Co. has a 1-year low of $19.39 and a 1-year high of $32.65. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $28.57 and a 200-day moving average price of $27.10.

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

SLM Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 16th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, June 5th will be paid a $0.13 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, June 5th. This represents a $0.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.87%. SLM's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.