SLM Co. (NASDAQ:SLM) Shares Purchased by National Bank of Canada FI

National Bank of Canada FI raised its holdings in shares of SLM Co. (NASDAQ:SLM - Free Report) by 248.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 232,847 shares of the credit services provider's stock after buying an additional 166,041 shares during the quarter. National Bank of Canada FI owned about 0.11% of SLM worth $6,422,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its holdings in SLM by 470.6% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,126,756 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $31,076,000 after buying an additional 929,292 shares in the last quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in SLM by 31.8% in the 4th quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 18,668 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $515,000 after purchasing an additional 4,501 shares during the last quarter. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC purchased a new stake in shares of SLM in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $140,442,000. Pertento Partners LLP acquired a new stake in shares of SLM during the 4th quarter worth approximately $48,451,000. Finally, Pictet Asset Management Holding SA raised its position in shares of SLM by 17.0% during the 4th quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 32,000 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $883,000 after buying an additional 4,661 shares during the period. 98.94% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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SLM Stock Down 1.2 %

Shares of NASDAQ:SLM traded down $0.32 during trading on Friday, hitting $25.46. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,519,268 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,167,321. SLM Co. has a fifty-two week low of $19.39 and a fifty-two week high of $32.65. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $29.17 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $26.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.37, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a current ratio of 1.32. The company has a market capitalization of $5.36 billion, a PE ratio of 9.61, a P/E/G ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 1.05.

SLM (NASDAQ:SLM - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The credit services provider reported $0.50 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.56 by ($0.06). SLM had a return on equity of 31.66% and a net margin of 20.73%. As a group, research analysts expect that SLM Co. will post 3.07 EPS for the current fiscal year.

SLM Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 5th were issued a dividend of $0.13 per share. This represents a $0.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.04%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 5th. SLM's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 19.62%.

Insider Buying and Selling at SLM

In other SLM news, Director Robert S. Strong sold 40,000 shares of SLM stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $28.57, for a total transaction 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Insiders own 1.20% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SLM has been the subject of several analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on SLM from $30.00 to $27.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on SLM from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Compass Point increased their target price on shares of SLM from $31.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Barclays lifted 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. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of SLM from $32.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, March 10th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, SLM currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $31.18.

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.