SLM Co. (NASDAQ:SLM) Shares Acquired by LGT Fund Management Co Ltd.

LGT Fund Management Co Ltd. raised its holdings in SLM Co. (NASDAQ:SLM) by 10.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 11,023 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,023 shares during the period. LGT Fund Management Co Ltd.’s holdings in SLM were worth $304,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. State Street Corp raised its holdings in SLM by 0.6% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 6,923,576 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $158,342,000 after buying an additional 43,927 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in SLM by 7.5% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,762,328 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $108,936,000 after purchasing an additional 331,490 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in SLM by 0.9% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,758,057 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $40,207,000 after purchasing an additional 15,252 shares during the period. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in SLM by 11.1% in the 3rd quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 1,114,083 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $25,479,000 after purchasing an additional 111,258 shares in the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its position in SLM by 2.8% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 669,263 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $15,306,000 after purchasing an additional 18,470 shares during the period. 98.94% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

SLM Stock Down 3.1 %

NASDAQ:SLM opened at $29.26 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $28.99 and a 200 day simple moving average of $25.39. SLM Co. has a one year low of $19.39 and a one year high of $32.65. The company has a market capitalization of $6.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 1.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.37, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a current ratio of 1.32.

SLM (NASDAQ:SLM) last issued its quarterly 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%. Sell-side analysts predict that SLM Co. will post 3.07 EPS for the current fiscal year.

SLM Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 5th will be paid a dividend of $0.13 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 5th. This represents a $0.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.78%. SLM’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 19.62%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on SLM from $32.00 to $33.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on shares of SLM from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Compass Point boosted their target price on shares of SLM from $31.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of SLM from $26.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective 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. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $30.91.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other SLM news, Director Robert S. Strong sold 40,000 shares of SLM 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 sale, the director now 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 legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Company insiders own 1.20% of the company’s stock.

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.