Rhumbline Advisers Sells 31,862 Shares of SLM Co. (NASDAQ:SLM)

Rhumbline Advisers reduced its stake in SLM Co. (NASDAQ:SLM - Free Report) by 5.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 590,955 shares of the credit services provider's stock after selling 31,862 shares during the quarter. Rhumbline Advisers owned 0.28% of SLM worth $16,298,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Root Financial Partners LLC bought a new position in SLM during the fourth quarter valued at $218,000. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its position in shares of SLM by 314.7% during the 4th quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 212,531 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $5,813,000 after buying an additional 161,283 shares during the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new position in shares of SLM during the 4th quarter worth $86,000. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt purchased a new stake in SLM in the 4th quarter worth about $869,000. Finally, Moody Aldrich Partners LLC bought a new stake in SLM in the 4th quarter valued at about $1,776,000. Institutional investors own 98.94% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Robert S. Strong sold 40,000 shares of SLM stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $28.57, for a total value of $1,142,800.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 43,163 shares in the company, valued at $1,233,166.91. This trade represents a 48.10 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 1.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Compass Point lifted 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. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of SLM from $26.00 to $32.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, December 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on SLM from $29.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on SLM from $32.00 to $33.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on SLM from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $30.91.

SLM Price Performance

SLM traded down $0.57 on Tuesday, reaching $30.02. The company had a trading volume of 3,117,999 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,738,419. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.37, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a current ratio of 1.32. SLM Co. has a 52-week low of $19.39 and a 52-week high of $32.65. The company has a market cap of $6.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.33, a P/E/G ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 1.22. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $28.79 and a 200 day simple moving average of $25.13.

SLM (NASDAQ:SLM - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 31.66% and a net margin of 20.73%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that SLM Co. will post 3.07 EPS for the current year.

SLM Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 5th will be issued a dividend of $0.13 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 5th. This represents a $0.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.73%. SLM's dividend payout ratio is 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.