Moody Aldrich Partners LLC Invests $1.78 Million in SLM Co. (NASDAQ:SLM)

Moody Aldrich Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of SLM Co. (NASDAQ:SLM) during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm bought 64,408 shares of the credit services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,776,000.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. Blue Trust Inc. raised its holdings in shares of SLM by 32.2% during the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,849 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $51,000 after buying an additional 450 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC raised its holdings in shares of SLM by 4.8% during the 3rd quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 11,594 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $265,000 after buying an additional 526 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its holdings in shares of SLM by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 33,825 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $933,000 after buying an additional 552 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in shares of SLM by 13.3% during the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 5,077 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $116,000 after buying an additional 594 shares during the period. Finally, Creative Planning raised its holdings in shares of SLM by 5.3% during the 3rd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 18,708 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $428,000 after buying an additional 942 shares during the period. 98.94% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at SLM

In other news, Director Robert S. Strong sold 4,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $27.25, for a total value of $122,625.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 83,130 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,265,292.50. The trade was a 5.14 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 1.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

SLM Trading Down 0.2 %

NASDAQ:SLM opened at $28.58 on Wednesday. SLM Co. has a 12-month low of $18.84 and a 12-month high of $31.49. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.96, a P/E/G ratio of 0.79 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.21, a current ratio of 1.29 and a quick ratio of 1.27. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $27.45 and a 200 day simple moving average of $24.03.

SLM (NASDAQ:SLM) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 23rd. The credit services provider reported $0.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.56 by ($0.06). SLM had a net margin of 22.18% and a return on equity of 35.92%. Equities research analysts predict that SLM Co. will post 2.72 EPS for the current year.

SLM Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 5th will be paid a dividend of $0.13 per share. This represents a $0.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.82%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 5th. SLM’s payout ratio is currently 18.12%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently commented on SLM shares. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on SLM from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating and set a $26.00 price objective on shares of SLM in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on SLM from $29.00 to $30.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Barclays lowered their price objective on SLM from $27.00 to $26.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, 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 research note on Friday, January 24th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, SLM currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $29.82.

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.