Dimensional Fund Advisors LP Reduces Stock Holdings in SLM Co. (NASDAQ:SLM)

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP trimmed its holdings in shares of SLM Co. (NASDAQ:SLM - Free Report) by 1.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 5,636,146 shares of the credit services provider's stock after selling 99,685 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP owned about 2.65% of SLM worth $155,446,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Private Trust Co. NA raised its stake 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 valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 450 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. raised its stake in SLM by 32.2% in the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,849 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $51,000 after acquiring an additional 450 shares during the period. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new stake in SLM during the fourth quarter valued at about $86,000. Plato Investment Management Ltd bought a new position in SLM during the fourth quarter worth about $114,000. Finally, Jones Financial Companies Lllp increased its stake in shares of SLM by 489.7% in the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 4,476 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $123,000 after purchasing an additional 3,717 shares in the last quarter. 98.94% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently commented on the stock. 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. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on SLM from $32.00 to $33.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on shares of SLM from $30.00 to $27.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Compass Point upped their target price on shares of SLM from $31.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Barclays boosted their price target on shares of SLM from $34.00 to $38.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, SLM presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $30.73.

SLM Trading Up 2.4 %

Shares of SLM traded up $0.67 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $28.88. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,030,990 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,199,309. SLM Co. has a 52 week low of $19.39 and a 52 week high of $32.65. The stock has a market cap of $6.08 billion, a PE ratio of 10.90, a P/E/G ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 1.05. The company's fifty day moving average price is $28.39 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $27.23. The company has a current ratio of 1.32, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.37.

SLM (NASDAQ:SLM - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The credit services provider reported $1.40 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.19 by $0.21. SLM had a return on equity of 31.66% and a net margin of 20.73%. The business had revenue of $374.97 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $359.83 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.27 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts predict that SLM Co. will post 3.07 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

SLM Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 16th. Investors 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.80%. SLM's payout ratio is presently 18.71%.

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.