Los Angeles Capital Management LLC Decreases Stock Holdings in SLM Co. (NASDAQ:SLM)

Los Angeles Capital Management LLC cut its position in SLM Co. (NASDAQ:SLM - Free Report) by 82.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 190,460 shares of the credit services provider's stock after selling 923,623 shares during the quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC owned about 0.09% of SLM worth $5,253,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in SLM. True Wealth Design LLC purchased a new stake in shares of SLM during the 3rd quarter valued at $31,000. Blue Trust Inc. raised its holdings in SLM by 358.7% in the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,399 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 1,094 shares in the last quarter. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new position in SLM in the third quarter worth about $35,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new position in shares of SLM in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $86,000. Finally, Covestor Ltd lifted its position in SLM by 110.3% during the third quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 4,404 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $101,000 after buying an additional 2,310 shares during the period. 98.94% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Robert S. Strong sold 40,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the director now owns 43,163 shares in the company, valued at $1,233,166.91. The trade was a 48.10 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 1.20% of the company's stock.

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SLM Price Performance

SLM traded up $0.07 during trading on Friday, hitting $30.19. The company's stock had a trading volume of 3,492,678 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,768,735. SLM Co. has a twelve month low of $19.39 and a twelve month high of $32.65. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.39, a P/E/G ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 1.22. The company has a current ratio of 1.32, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.37. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $28.95 and its 200 day simple moving average is $25.30.

SLM (NASDAQ:SLM - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 23rd. The credit services provider reported $0.50 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.56 by ($0.06). SLM had a net margin of 20.73% and a return on equity of 31.66%. On average, equities research analysts forecast that SLM Co. will post 3.07 EPS for the current fiscal year.

SLM Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 5th will be paid a $0.13 dividend. This represents a $0.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.72%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 5th. SLM's payout ratio is currently 19.62%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

SLM has been the topic of several analyst reports. Barclays upped their target price on shares of SLM from $34.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of SLM from $26.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on SLM from $32.00 to $33.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Compass Point raised their price objective on shares of SLM from $31.00 to $34.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on SLM from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $30.91.

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.