SLM Co. (NASDAQ:SLM) Shares Purchased by Quantbot Technologies LP

Quantbot Technologies LP lifted its position in SLM Co. (NASDAQ:SLM - Free Report) by 85.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 21,700 shares of the credit services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 9,974 shares during the period. Quantbot Technologies LP's holdings in SLM were worth $598,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in SLM during the 4th quarter valued at about $20,603,000. Boston Partners lifted its position in shares of SLM by 3.9% during the fourth 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 during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of SLM by 7.5% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,762,328 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $108,936,000 after buying an additional 331,490 shares in the last quarter. Perpetual Ltd bought a new position in shares of SLM during the 4th quarter worth approximately $6,488,000. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its position in SLM by 314.7% during the fourth quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 212,531 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $5,813,000 after acquiring an additional 161,283 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 98.94% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

SLM has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on SLM from $29.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Barclays increased their price target on SLM from $34.00 to $38.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on SLM from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Compass Point increased 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, Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of SLM from $32.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, SLM has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $31.45.

Remove Ads

SLM Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:SLM traded down $0.41 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $28.96. The company's stock had a trading volume of 114,177 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,080,641. 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 fifty day moving average of $29.62 and a 200 day moving average of $26.55. 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 $6.09 billion, a PE ratio of 10.94, a P/E/G ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 1.23.

SLM (NASDAQ:SLM - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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%. On average, equities analysts expect that SLM Co. will post 3.07 EPS for the current fiscal year.

SLM Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 5th were issued a $0.13 dividend. This represents a $0.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.80%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 5th. SLM's payout ratio is presently 19.62%.

Insider Transactions at SLM

In other news, Director Robert S. Strong sold 40,000 shares of the firm'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 directly owns 43,163 shares in the company, valued at $1,233,166.91. This trade represents a 48.10 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Corporate 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.