SLM Co. (NASDAQ:SLM) Stake Increased by Quantbot Technologies LP

Quantbot Technologies LP lifted its holdings in SLM Co. (NASDAQ:SLM) by 85.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 21,700 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after buying an additional 9,974 shares during the period. Quantbot Technologies LP’s holdings in SLM were worth $598,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Private Trust Co. NA increased its stake in 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 buying an additional 450 shares during the period. True Wealth Design LLC acquired a new position in shares of SLM in the third quarter worth $31,000. Blue Trust Inc. raised its holdings in shares of SLM by 32.2% during the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,849 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $51,000 after acquiring an additional 450 shares in the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new stake in SLM during the fourth quarter valued at $86,000. Finally, Plato Investment Management Ltd purchased a new position in SLM in the fourth quarter valued at about $114,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.94% of the company’s stock.

SLM Stock Down 0.7 %

SLM stock opened at $29.73 on Friday. 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 company has a 50-day moving average of $29.58 and a two-hundred day moving average of $26.34. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 1.23. SLM Co. has a 52-week low of $19.39 and a 52-week high of $32.65.

SLM (NASDAQ:SLM) last announced its 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 net margin of 20.73% and a return on equity of 31.66%. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that SLM Co. will post 3.07 EPS for the current year.

SLM Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 5th were paid a dividend of $0.13 per share. This represents a $0.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.75%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 5th. SLM’s payout ratio is currently 19.62%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on SLM shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised 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. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of SLM from $32.00 to $33.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. 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. Barclays raised their price target on shares of SLM from $34.00 to $38.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of SLM from $29.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, SLM has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $31.45.

Insider Buying and Selling at SLM

In other SLM news, Director Robert S. Strong sold 40,000 shares of the company’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 value of $1,142,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 43,163 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,233,166.91. This represents a 48.10 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Insiders own 1.20% of the company’s stock.

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.