Polaris Capital Management LLC Has $43.85 Million Holdings in SLM Co. (NASDAQ:SLM)

Polaris Capital Management LLC cut its holdings in shares of SLM Co. (NASDAQ:SLM - Free Report) by 4.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,590,000 shares of the credit services provider's stock after selling 68,600 shares during the period. SLM comprises approximately 2.1% of Polaris Capital Management LLC's holdings, making the stock its 11th largest holding. Polaris Capital Management LLC owned approximately 0.75% of SLM worth $43,852,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Waldron Private Wealth LLC bought a new position in SLM in the 3rd quarter valued at $31,000. True Wealth Design LLC bought a new position in SLM in the 3rd quarter valued at $31,000. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its position in SLM by 358.7% in the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,399 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 1,094 shares during the last quarter. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new position in SLM in the 3rd quarter valued at $35,000. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new position in SLM in the 4th quarter valued at $86,000. 98.94% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related 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 transaction, the director now owns 43,163 shares in the company, 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 SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 1.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have commented on the company. Barclays decreased their price objective on SLM from $27.00 to $26.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research 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 research report on Thursday, December 19th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on SLM from $32.00 to $33.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on SLM from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Compass Point raised their price target on SLM from $31.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $29.82.

SLM Stock Up 4.3 %

Shares of SLM traded up $1.28 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $31.30. The stock had a trading volume of 1,472,324 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,507,021. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $28.07 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $24.51. SLM Co. has a twelve month low of $19.39 and a twelve month high of $31.49. The firm has a market cap of $6.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.81 and a beta of 1.22. 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 (NASDAQ:SLM - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The credit services provider reported $0.50 earnings per share (EPS) 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%. On average, analysts anticipate that SLM Co. will post 3.07 EPS for the current year.

SLM Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 5th will be given a $0.13 dividend. This represents a $0.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.66%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 5th. SLM's dividend payout ratio is currently 19.62%.

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.