Geode Capital Management LLC Has $132.91 Million Stock Position in SLM Co. (NASDAQ:SLM)

Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in SLM Co. (NASDAQ:SLM) by 1.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,817,771 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 55,443 shares during the quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC’s holdings in SLM were worth $132,906,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Blue Trust Inc. increased 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. Private Trust Co. NA boosted its stake in SLM by 86.4% in the fourth 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 in the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC grew its position in SLM by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 33,825 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $933,000 after acquiring an additional 552 shares during the last quarter. Xponance Inc. raised its stake in SLM by 3.1% during the fourth quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 24,263 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $669,000 after acquiring an additional 729 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Truist Financial Corp lifted its holdings in shares of SLM by 11.9% in the fourth quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 9,052 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $250,000 after acquiring an additional 960 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 98.94% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

SLM has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on shares of SLM from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of SLM from $32.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, March 10th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on SLM from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Barclays boosted their price objective on SLM from $34.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on SLM from $30.00 to $27.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $31.18.

SLM Trading Down 0.4 %

Shares of SLM stock opened at $24.84 on Wednesday. SLM Co. has a 1-year low of $19.39 and a 1-year high of $32.65. 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 stock has a market cap of $5.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.37, a PEG ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 1.05. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $29.33 and a 200-day moving average of $26.77.

SLM (NASDAQ:SLM) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The credit services provider reported $0.50 earnings per share 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 earnings per share for the current year.

SLM Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 5th were issued a $0.13 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 5th. This represents a $0.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.09%. SLM’s payout ratio is 19.62%.

Insider Buying and Selling at SLM

In other 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 value of $1,142,800.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 43,163 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,233,166.91. The trade was a 48.10 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Insiders own 1.20% of the company’s stock.

SLM 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.