Discovery Capital Management LLC CT Purchases Shares of 209,400 SLM Co. (NASDAQ:SLM)

Discovery Capital Management LLC CT acquired a new stake in shares of SLM Co. (NASDAQ:SLM - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 209,400 shares of the credit services provider's stock, valued at approximately $5,775,000. Discovery Capital Management LLC CT owned 0.10% of SLM as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC acquired a new position in SLM during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $140,442,000. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of SLM in the 4th quarter valued at $68,603,000. Pertento Partners LLP purchased a new stake in shares of SLM during the 4th quarter worth about $48,451,000. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its holdings in SLM by 470.6% in the fourth 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 period. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in SLM in the 4th quarter valued at $20,603,000. Institutional investors own 98.94% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at SLM

In related news, Director Robert S. Strong sold 40,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 28th. The stock was 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 directly owns 43,163 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,233,166.91. The trade was a 48.10 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 1.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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SLM Stock Performance

Shares of SLM stock traded down $2.77 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $27.37. The stock had a trading volume of 3,227,290 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,096,794. SLM Co. has a fifty-two week low of $19.39 and a fifty-two week high of $32.65. 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 company's 50-day simple moving average is $29.66 and its 200-day simple moving average is $26.64. The firm has a market cap of $5.76 billion, a PE ratio of 10.33, a PEG ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 1.05.

SLM (NASDAQ:SLM - Get Free Report) last announced 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 return on equity of 31.66% and a net margin of 20.73%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that SLM Co. will post 3.07 earnings per share for the current year.

SLM Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 5th were given a $0.13 dividend. This represents a $0.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.90%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 5th. SLM's payout ratio is 19.62%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently commented on SLM. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on SLM from $32.00 to $38.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on SLM from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on shares of SLM from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on SLM from $29.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Barclays increased their target price on SLM from $34.00 to $38.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, SLM presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $31.45.

About SLM

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.