Arnhold LLC Lowers Holdings in SLM Co. (NASDAQ:SLM)

Arnhold LLC decreased its position in SLM Co. (NASDAQ:SLM - Free Report) by 8.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,082,801 shares of the credit services provider's stock after selling 104,026 shares during the quarter. SLM comprises approximately 2.9% of Arnhold LLC's holdings, making the stock its 7th largest position. Arnhold LLC owned approximately 0.51% of SLM worth $29,864,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Boston Partners boosted its holdings in shares of SLM by 3.9% in the fourth quarter. Boston Partners now owns 12,246,797 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $338,889,000 after buying an additional 456,415 shares during the period. FMR LLC boosted its holdings in shares of SLM by 39.0% in the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 7,529,496 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $207,664,000 after buying an additional 2,111,699 shares during the period. Capital Research Global Investors acquired a new position in shares of SLM in the fourth quarter worth about $144,101,000. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of SLM by 7.0% in the fourth quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 5,175,645 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $142,744,000 after buying an additional 338,128 shares during the period. Finally, Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC purchased a new position in SLM during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $140,442,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.94% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

SLM has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada boosted 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. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and set a $33.00 price objective (up from $31.00) on shares of SLM in a research report on Friday. Compass Point boosted their price objective on shares of SLM from $31.00 to $34.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of SLM from $34.00 to $38.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of SLM from $32.00 to $33.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $30.73.

SLM Stock Performance

Shares of SLM stock traded down $0.22 on Wednesday, reaching $28.60. The stock had a trading volume of 753,631 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,200,703. The business's 50-day moving average price is $28.33 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $27.24. 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 Co. has a fifty-two week low of $19.39 and a fifty-two week high of $32.65. The stock has a market cap of $6.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 1.05.

SLM (NASDAQ:SLM - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 24th. The credit services provider reported $1.40 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.19 by $0.21. SLM had a net margin of 20.73% and a return on equity of 31.66%. The business had revenue of $374.97 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $359.83 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.27 earnings per share. SLM's revenue for the quarter was up 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that SLM Co. will post 3.07 EPS for the current year.

SLM Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 16th. Investors of record on Thursday, June 5th will be given a dividend of $0.13 per share. This represents a $0.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.82%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, June 5th. SLM's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 18.71%.

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.