SLM Co. (NASDAQ:SLM) Shares Purchased by Russell Investments Group Ltd.

Russell Investments Group Ltd. raised its stake in shares of SLM Co. (NASDAQ:SLM - Free Report) by 4.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 648,305 shares of the credit services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 27,432 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd. owned 0.31% of SLM worth $17,877,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of SLM. Captrust Financial Advisors acquired a new stake in SLM during the third quarter worth about $274,000. HighTower Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of SLM by 136.9% in the 3rd quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 38,618 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $884,000 after purchasing an additional 22,315 shares during the last quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP increased its position in shares of SLM by 107.3% during the 3rd quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 34,388 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $786,000 after purchasing an additional 17,799 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its position 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. Finally, National Bank of Canada FI raised its stake in shares of SLM by 13.2% in the 3rd quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 66,806 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $1,528,000 after acquiring an additional 7,816 shares during the period. 98.94% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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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 transaction, the director now directly owns 43,163 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,233,166.91. The trade was a 48.10 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 1.20% of the company's stock.

SLM Stock Performance

NASDAQ:SLM traded up $0.94 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $27.04. 559,304 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,164,689. SLM Co. has a 1-year low of $19.39 and a 1-year high of $32.65. The company has a quick ratio of 1.27, a current ratio of 1.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.37. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.20, a P/E/G ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a 50-day moving average of $29.09 and a 200 day moving average of $26.92.

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 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%. Research analysts anticipate that SLM Co. will post 3.07 EPS for the current year.

SLM Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 5th were issued a $0.13 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 5th. This represents a $0.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.92%. SLM's dividend payout ratio is presently 19.62%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on SLM shares. Barclays lifted their price objective on SLM from $34.00 to $38.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of SLM from $32.00 to $33.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on shares of SLM from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of SLM from $32.00 to $38.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Finally, Compass Point upped their price objective 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 assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, SLM presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus 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.