SLM Co. (NASDAQ:SLM) Shares Sold by Intech Investment Management LLC

Intech Investment Management LLC cut its stake in shares of SLM Co. (NASDAQ:SLM - Free Report) by 43.0% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 71,715 shares of the credit services provider's stock after selling 54,032 shares during the quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC's holdings in SLM were worth $1,640,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Quest Partners LLC acquired a new stake in SLM in the third quarter valued at $623,000. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its holdings in SLM by 4.8% in the third quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 11,594 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $265,000 after acquiring an additional 526 shares during the period. GSA Capital Partners LLP acquired a new stake in SLM in the third quarter valued at $1,149,000. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in SLM by 11.1% in the third quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 1,114,083 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $25,479,000 after acquiring an additional 111,258 shares during the period. Finally, State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D increased its position in shares of SLM by 1.8% in the third quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D now owns 92,216 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $2,109,000 after buying an additional 1,668 shares in the last quarter. 98.94% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

SLM has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Wedbush restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $26.00 price target on shares of SLM in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Bank of America initiated coverage on SLM in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $27.00 price target for the company. Barclays dropped their price target on SLM from $27.00 to $26.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on SLM from $25.00 to $24.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $26.00 price objective on shares of SLM in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $25.45.

SLM Trading Down 1.6 %

SLM traded down $0.46 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $27.42. The company's stock had a trading volume of 5,048,528 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,844,454. The company has a current ratio of 1.29, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.21. The firm has a market cap of $5.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.55, a PEG ratio of 1.15 and a beta of 1.16. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $23.02 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $21.85. SLM Co. has a 52-week low of $14.03 and a 52-week high of $28.22.

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

SLM Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, December 5th will be paid a $0.13 dividend. This is a positive change from SLM's previous quarterly dividend of $0.11. This represents a $0.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.90%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, December 5th. SLM's payout ratio is currently 15.33%.

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.