Allianz Asset Management GmbH Trims Stock Position in SLM Co. (NASDAQ:SLM)

Allianz Asset Management GmbH decreased its stake in SLM Co. (NASDAQ:SLM) by 3.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,731,403 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 103,810 shares during the quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH’s holdings in SLM were worth $75,332,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Waldron Private Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in SLM during the third quarter valued at $31,000. True Wealth Design LLC purchased a new stake in shares of SLM during the 3rd quarter worth about $31,000. Blue Trust Inc. grew its position in shares of SLM by 358.7% during the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,399 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 1,094 shares during the period. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new position in shares of SLM in the 3rd quarter valued at about $35,000. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new position in shares of SLM in the 4th quarter valued at about $86,000. 98.94% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

SLM Stock Performance

SLM opened at $30.68 on Friday. 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 $6.51 billion, a PE ratio of 11.58, a PEG ratio of 0.87 and a beta of 1.22. 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 firm’s 50-day moving average price is $28.68 and its 200 day moving average price is $24.92.

SLM (NASDAQ:SLM) last issued 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 return on equity of 31.66% and a net margin of 20.73%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that SLM Co. will post 3.07 EPS for the current fiscal year.

SLM Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 5th will be given a dividend of $0.13 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 5th. This represents a $0.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.69%. SLM’s payout ratio is 19.62%.

Insider Activity at SLM

In other SLM news, Director Robert S. Strong sold 4,500 shares of SLM 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 in the company, valued at $2,265,292.50. The trade was a 5.14 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 1.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have commented on SLM. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on SLM from $32.00 to $33.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of SLM from $29.00 to $30.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of SLM from $26.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on shares of SLM from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Barclays upped their price target on shares of SLM from $34.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $30.91.

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.