Prudential Financial Inc. Acquires 22,388 Shares of SLM Co. (NASDAQ:SLM)

Prudential Financial Inc. increased its holdings in SLM Co. (NASDAQ:SLM - Free Report) by 26.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 107,126 shares of the credit services provider's stock after buying an additional 22,388 shares during the quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. owned about 0.05% of SLM worth $2,955,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of SLM. Private Trust Co. NA increased its stake in shares of SLM by 86.4% in the fourth quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 971 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 450 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. raised its position in SLM by 32.2% during the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,849 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $51,000 after acquiring an additional 450 shares in the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new stake in SLM during the fourth quarter valued at $86,000. Plato Investment Management Ltd acquired a new position in shares of SLM in the fourth quarter worth about $114,000. Finally, Jones Financial Companies Lllp lifted its position in shares of SLM by 489.7% during the 4th quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 4,476 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $123,000 after buying an additional 3,717 shares in the last quarter. 98.94% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other 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 transaction of $1,142,800.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 43,163 shares of the company's stock, valued at $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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 1.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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SLM Stock Performance

Shares of SLM traded down $1.83 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $25.54. 3,955,907 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,114,086. The business's 50 day moving average price is $29.56 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $26.67. SLM Co. has a 1-year low of $19.39 and a 1-year high of $32.65. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.37 billion, a PE ratio of 9.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 1.05. 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 (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 the consensus estimate of $0.56 by ($0.06). SLM had a return on equity of 31.66% and a net margin of 20.73%. Equities research analysts predict that SLM Co. will post 3.07 EPS for the current fiscal year.

SLM Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed 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 was Wednesday, March 5th. This represents a $0.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.04%. SLM's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 19.62%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently issued reports on SLM shares. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of SLM from $34.00 to $38.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on SLM from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on SLM from $29.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on SLM from $32.00 to $38.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Finally, 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 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 company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $31.45.

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.