Norges Bank Makes New $68.60 Million Investment in SLM Co. (NASDAQ:SLM)

Norges Bank bought a new stake in SLM Co. (NASDAQ:SLM) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 2,487,430 shares of the credit services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $68,603,000. Norges Bank owned about 1.17% of SLM as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its holdings in shares of SLM by 12.7% during the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 754,457 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $20,808,000 after purchasing an additional 85,194 shares during the period. WINTON GROUP Ltd raised its position in SLM by 40.2% during the 4th quarter. WINTON GROUP Ltd now owns 30,205 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $833,000 after buying an additional 8,654 shares during the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp lifted its stake in shares of SLM by 9.2% in the 4th quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp now owns 223,692 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $6,169,000 after acquiring an additional 18,754 shares during the period. Prudential Financial Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of SLM by 26.4% in the fourth quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. now owns 107,126 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $2,955,000 after acquiring an additional 22,388 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Advantage Alpha Capital Partners LP increased its stake in shares of SLM by 41.7% during the fourth quarter. Advantage Alpha Capital Partners LP now owns 251,949 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $6,949,000 after acquiring an additional 74,109 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.94% of the company’s stock.

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 on Tuesday, January 28th. The shares were 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 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 filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 1.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

SLM Stock Performance

Shares of SLM opened at $27.37 on Friday. SLM Co. has a 12-month low of $19.39 and a 12-month high of $32.65. The stock has a market cap of $5.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.33, a PEG ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 1.05. 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 company has a 50-day moving average of $29.63 and a two-hundred day moving average of $26.64.

SLM (NASDAQ:SLM) last announced 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%. As a group, research analysts predict that SLM Co. will post 3.07 EPS for the current fiscal year.

SLM Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 5th were given a $0.13 dividend. This represents a $0.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.90%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 5th. SLM’s dividend payout ratio is presently 19.62%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Compass Point lifted their price objective on SLM from $31.00 to $34.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on SLM from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Morgan Stanley increased 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. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on shares of SLM from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of SLM from $29.00 to $30.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, SLM presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $31.45.

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.