Portolan Capital Management LLC Buys 506,082 Shares of SLM Co. (NASDAQ:SLM)

Portolan Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of SLM Co. (NASDAQ:SLM - Free Report) by 128.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 900,519 shares of the credit services provider's stock after buying an additional 506,082 shares during the quarter. SLM comprises approximately 1.7% of Portolan Capital Management LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 15th biggest holding. Portolan Capital Management LLC owned about 0.42% of SLM worth $24,836,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Amundi raised its position in shares of SLM by 103.4% in the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 135,014 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $3,712,000 after acquiring an additional 68,632 shares during the period. HighTower Advisors LLC raised its holdings in SLM by 136.9% in the third quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 38,618 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $884,000 after purchasing an additional 22,315 shares during the period. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp boosted its position in shares of SLM by 9.2% during the fourth quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp now owns 223,692 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $6,169,000 after purchasing an additional 18,754 shares in the last quarter. Boston Partners increased its position in shares of SLM by 3.9% in the 4th quarter. Boston Partners now owns 12,246,797 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $338,889,000 after buying an additional 456,415 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Discovery Capital Management LLC CT acquired a new stake in SLM during the 4th quarter worth $5,775,000. 98.94% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at SLM

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

SLM Stock Performance

SLM stock traded up $0.50 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $26.78. The stock had a trading volume of 1,979,295 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,181,611. SLM Co. has a fifty-two week low of $19.39 and a fifty-two week high of $32.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.37, a current ratio of 1.32 and a quick ratio of 1.27. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.64 billion, a PE ratio of 10.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 1.05. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $28.86 and a 200 day simple moving average of $26.97.

SLM (NASDAQ:SLM - Get Free Report) last posted its 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 return on equity of 31.66% and a net margin of 20.73%. Analysts predict that SLM Co. will post 3.07 EPS for the current fiscal year.

SLM Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced 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 1.94%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 5th. SLM's payout ratio is 19.62%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

SLM has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. 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. 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. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of SLM from $32.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target 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 boosted their target price on SLM from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $31.18.

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.