Diametric Capital LP Purchases New Position in SLM Co. (NASDAQ:SLM)

Diametric Capital LP purchased a new position in SLM Co. (NASDAQ:SLM) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 13,763 shares of the credit services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $380,000.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. National Bank of Canada FI boosted its stake in shares of SLM by 248.5% during the fourth quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 232,847 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $6,422,000 after purchasing an additional 166,041 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its stake in SLM by 470.6% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,126,756 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $31,076,000 after purchasing an additional 929,292 shares during the last quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC grew its position in shares of SLM by 31.8% in the 4th quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 18,668 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $515,000 after buying an additional 4,501 shares during the last quarter. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC acquired a new position in shares of SLM during the fourth quarter worth $140,442,000. Finally, Pertento Partners LLP acquired a new position in SLM during the 4th quarter valued at about $48,451,000. Institutional investors own 98.94% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

SLM has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped 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. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on SLM from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Barclays boosted their price objective on SLM from $34.00 to $38.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on SLM from $32.00 to $33.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on SLM from $32.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, SLM has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $31.45.

SLM Stock Up 0.9 %

SLM opened at $29.62 on Wednesday. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $29.64 and a 200 day moving average price of $26.61. SLM Co. has a twelve month low of $19.39 and a twelve month high of $32.65. The company has a market cap of $6.23 billion, a PE ratio of 11.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 1.23. The company has a quick ratio of 1.27, a current ratio of 1.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.37.

SLM (NASDAQ:SLM) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The credit services provider reported $0.50 EPS 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%. Sell-side analysts expect that SLM Co. will post 3.07 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

SLM Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 5th were issued a dividend of $0.13 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 5th. This represents a $0.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.76%. SLM’s dividend payout ratio is presently 19.62%.

Insider Activity at SLM

In other SLM news, Director Robert S. Strong sold 40,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $28.57, for a total transaction of $1,142,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 43,163 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,233,166.91. This trade represents a 48.10 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 1.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.