Sterling Capital Management LLC Has $7.62 Million Holdings in SLM Co. (NASDAQ:SLM)

Sterling Capital Management LLC lessened its position in shares of SLM Co. (NASDAQ:SLM - Free Report) by 61.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 276,151 shares of the credit services provider's stock after selling 446,981 shares during the quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC owned approximately 0.13% of SLM worth $7,616,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. State Street Corp grew its position in shares of SLM by 0.6% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 6,923,576 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $158,342,000 after purchasing an additional 43,927 shares during the period. Amundi lifted its position in SLM by 103.4% during the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 135,014 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $3,712,000 after acquiring an additional 68,632 shares in the last quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC increased its stake in SLM by 136.9% during the 3rd quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 38,618 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $884,000 after buying an additional 22,315 shares during the period. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp lifted its stake in shares of SLM by 9.2% in the fourth quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp now owns 223,692 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $6,169,000 after acquiring an additional 18,754 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Boston Partners boosted its stake in shares of SLM by 3.9% during the 4th 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. 98.94% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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Insider Activity at SLM

In related news, Director Robert S. Strong sold 40,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $28.57, for a total value of $1,142,800.00. Following the sale, the director now 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 1.20% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have commented on SLM. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on SLM from $32.00 to $33.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on shares of SLM from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on shares of SLM from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Barclays lifted their target price on SLM from $34.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of SLM from $30.00 to $27.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, SLM has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $31.18.

SLM Stock Up 2.1 %

Shares of SLM traded up $0.55 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $26.65. 1,728,159 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,173,311. SLM Co. has a twelve month low of $19.39 and a twelve month high of $32.65. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $29.03 and a two-hundred day moving average of $26.92. 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 $5.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.06, a P/E/G ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 1.05.

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 (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, sell-side analysts forecast that SLM Co. will post 3.07 earnings per share for the current year.

SLM Dividend Announcement

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 1.95%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 5th. SLM's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 19.62%.

About SLM

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.