Norges Bank Buys New Position in SLM Co. (NASDAQ:SLM)

Norges Bank purchased a new stake in SLM Co. (NASDAQ:SLM - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 2,487,430 shares of the credit services provider's stock, valued at approximately $68,603,000. Norges Bank owned approximately 1.17% of SLM at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Boston Partners raised its holdings in shares of SLM by 3.9% during the fourth quarter. Boston Partners now owns 12,246,797 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $338,889,000 after purchasing an additional 456,415 shares during the period. State Street Corp lifted its stake 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 buying an additional 43,927 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its position in SLM by 7.0% in the 4th quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 5,175,645 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $142,744,000 after purchasing an additional 338,128 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in SLM by 7.5% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,762,328 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $108,936,000 after purchasing an additional 331,490 shares during the period. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its position in SLM by 12.7% in the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 754,457 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $20,808,000 after purchasing an additional 85,194 shares during the last quarter. 98.94% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on SLM shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on SLM from $30.00 to $27.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday. Barclays upped their price target on shares of SLM from $34.00 to $38.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on shares of SLM from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of SLM from $32.00 to $33.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on SLM from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $31.18.

Insider Activity at SLM

In related news, Director Robert S. Strong sold 40,000 shares of SLM stock in a transaction on 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 owns 43,163 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,233,166.91. This trade represents a 48.10 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 1.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

SLM Trading Down 0.4 %

NASDAQ SLM traded down $0.09 on Tuesday, hitting $24.84. 3,407,541 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,145,478. The company's 50-day moving average price is $29.33 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $26.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.37, a current ratio of 1.32 and a quick ratio of 1.27. SLM Co. has a 52-week low of $19.39 and a 52-week high of $32.65. The company has a market capitalization of $5.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.37, a P/E/G ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 1.05.

SLM (NASDAQ:SLM - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The credit services provider reported $0.50 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.56 by ($0.06). SLM had a net margin of 20.73% and a return on equity of 31.66%. Research analysts predict that SLM Co. will post 3.07 EPS for the current year.

SLM Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 5th were issued a dividend of $0.13 per share. This represents a $0.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.09%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 5th. SLM's dividend payout ratio is currently 19.62%.

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.