Alliancebernstein L.P. Sells 11,562 Shares of SLM Co. (NASDAQ:SLM)

Alliancebernstein L.P. decreased its stake in SLM Co. (NASDAQ:SLM - Free Report) by 3.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 353,764 shares of the credit services provider's stock after selling 11,562 shares during the period. Alliancebernstein L.P. owned about 0.17% of SLM worth $9,757,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Captrust Financial Advisors purchased a new stake in shares of SLM in the 3rd quarter valued at $274,000. HighTower Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of SLM by 136.9% during the third quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 38,618 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $884,000 after buying an additional 22,315 shares during the last quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP increased its holdings in shares of SLM by 107.3% in the third quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 34,388 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $786,000 after buying an additional 17,799 shares during the period. State Street Corp lifted its stake in shares of SLM by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 6,923,576 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $158,342,000 after acquiring an additional 43,927 shares during the last quarter. Finally, National Bank of Canada FI grew its position in SLM by 13.2% during the 3rd quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 66,806 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $1,528,000 after acquiring an additional 7,816 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.94% of the company's stock.

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SLM Stock Down 0.7 %

Shares of SLM stock traded down $0.19 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $26.46. 213,195 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,165,643. 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 stock has a market cap of $5.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.98, a PEG ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 1.05. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $29.03 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $26.92. SLM Co. has a 12-month low of $19.39 and a 12-month high of $32.65.

SLM (NASDAQ:SLM - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The credit services provider reported $0.50 EPS 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%. On average, analysts expect that SLM Co. will post 3.07 EPS for the current year.

SLM Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 5th were paid a dividend of $0.13 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 5th. This represents a $0.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.97%. SLM's dividend payout ratio is currently 19.62%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on SLM. Compass Point increased their price objective on SLM from $31.00 to $34.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on shares of SLM from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of SLM from $32.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, March 10th. Barclays boosted their price target on SLM from $34.00 to $38.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. 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 assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $31.18.

Insider Transactions at SLM

In related news, Director Robert S. Strong sold 40,000 shares of the 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. This trade represents a 48.10 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 1.20% of the company's stock.

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.