Natixis Advisors LLC lowered its stake in SLM Co. (NASDAQ:SLM - Free Report) by 27.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 313,853 shares of the credit services provider's stock after selling 115,928 shares during the quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC owned about 0.15% of SLM worth $8,656,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.
Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Private Trust Co. NA lifted its holdings in shares of SLM by 86.4% in the 4th quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 971 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 450 shares during the last quarter. True Wealth Design LLC purchased a new stake in SLM during the third quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its stake in shares of SLM by 32.2% in the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,849 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $51,000 after purchasing an additional 450 shares during the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new position in shares of SLM during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $86,000. Finally, Plato Investment Management Ltd bought a new position in shares of SLM during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $114,000. Institutional investors own 98.94% of the company's stock.
Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth
Several research firms have commented on SLM. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective 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. Compass Point lifted their price target on shares of SLM from $31.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of SLM from $29.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on SLM from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price target on SLM from $32.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, March 10th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, SLM presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $31.45.
View Our Latest Stock Analysis on SLM
Insider Buying and Selling at SLM
In other SLM news, Director Robert S. Strong sold 40,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated 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 owns 43,163 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,233,166.91. The trade was a 48.10 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 1.20% of the company's stock.
SLM Stock Up 2.4 %
Shares of SLM stock traded up $0.72 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $30.42. The stock had a trading volume of 3,132,131 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,031,421. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $6.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 1.23. The firm's 50-day moving average is $29.46 and its two-hundred day moving average is $26.22. 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 issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 23rd. The credit services provider reported $0.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.56 by ($0.06). SLM had a net margin of 20.73% and a return on equity of 31.66%. On average, analysts predict that SLM Co. will post 3.07 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
SLM Dividend Announcement
The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders 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 yield of 1.71%. SLM's dividend payout ratio is presently 19.62%.
About SLM
(
Free Report)
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.
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