SLM Co. (NASDAQ:SLM) Shares Purchased by Geode Capital Management LLC

Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of SLM Co. (NASDAQ:SLM - Free Report) by 1.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,817,771 shares of the credit services provider's stock after buying an additional 55,443 shares during the quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC owned about 2.27% of SLM worth $132,906,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of SLM. Boston Partners grew its stake in shares of SLM by 3.9% in the 4th quarter. Boston Partners now owns 12,246,797 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $338,889,000 after buying an additional 456,415 shares during the period. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in SLM by 0.6% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 6,923,576 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $158,342,000 after acquiring an additional 43,927 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. grew its position in SLM by 7.0% in the fourth quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 5,175,645 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $142,744,000 after acquiring an additional 338,128 shares during the period. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC acquired a new stake in SLM during the fourth quarter worth $140,442,000. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new stake in SLM in the fourth quarter valued at $68,603,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.94% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on SLM. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target 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. dropped their price target on shares of SLM from $30.00 to $27.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Royal Bank of Canada upped 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. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on shares of SLM from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price target on SLM from $32.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $31.18.

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Insider Transactions at SLM

In other news, Director Robert S. Strong sold 40,000 shares of the 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 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 1.20% of the company's stock.

SLM Stock Up 2.3 %

SLM traded up $0.59 on Monday, hitting $26.05. 134,465 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,165,037. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $29.17 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $26.89. 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 Co. has a twelve month low of $19.39 and a twelve month high of $32.65. The company has a market cap of $5.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 1.05.

SLM (NASDAQ:SLM - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 23rd. The credit services provider reported $0.50 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%. On average, equities analysts predict that SLM Co. will post 3.07 earnings per share for the current year.

SLM Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 5th were issued a $0.13 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 5th. This represents a $0.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.00%. SLM's payout ratio is 19.62%.

SLM 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.