Geode Capital Management LLC Purchases 331,490 Shares of SLM Co. (NASDAQ:SLM)

Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in SLM Co. (NASDAQ:SLM - Free Report) by 7.5% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 4,762,328 shares of the credit services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 331,490 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC owned 2.24% of SLM worth $108,936,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Waldron Private Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in SLM in the 3rd quarter worth about $31,000. True Wealth Design LLC bought a new position in SLM during the third quarter worth about $31,000. Blue Trust Inc. increased its stake in shares of SLM by 358.7% in the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,399 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 1,094 shares in the last quarter. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new stake in shares of SLM in the third quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of SLM in the second quarter valued at approximately $60,000. 98.94% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

SLM has been the subject of several analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $26.00 price objective on shares of SLM in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on SLM from $26.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday. Wedbush reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $26.00 price objective on shares of SLM in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on SLM from $24.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reaffirmed a "market perform" rating and set a $30.00 target price (up previously from $27.00) on shares of SLM in a report on Monday, December 9th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, SLM has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $27.27.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Robert S. Strong sold 4,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $27.25, for a total transaction of $122,625.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 83,130 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,265,292.50. This trade represents a 5.14 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 1.20% of the company's stock.

SLM Price Performance

Shares of SLM stock traded up $0.60 during trading on Thursday, hitting $27.47. The company had a trading volume of 4,258,423 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,888,478. The stock's 50-day moving average is $24.62 and its two-hundred day moving average is $22.54. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.85 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a quick ratio of 1.27, a current ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.21. SLM Co. has a 52 week low of $18.04 and a 52 week high of $28.22.

SLM (NASDAQ:SLM - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The credit services provider reported ($0.23) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.07 by ($0.30). SLM had a net margin of 22.18% and a return on equity of 35.92%. The company had revenue of $652.64 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $363.40 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.11 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that SLM Co. will post 2.73 EPS for the current fiscal year.

SLM Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 16th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, December 5th were issued a $0.13 dividend. This is a boost from SLM's previous quarterly dividend of $0.11. This represents a $0.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.89%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, December 5th. SLM's dividend payout ratio is presently 18.12%.

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.