CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co Decreases Stock Position in SLM Co. (NASDAQ:SLM)

CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co lowered its stake in SLM Co. (NASDAQ:SLM - Free Report) by 9.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 202,763 shares of the credit services provider's stock after selling 21,531 shares during the period. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co owned approximately 0.10% of SLM worth $5,595,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Private Trust Co. NA lifted its position in shares of SLM by 86.4% in the 4th quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 971 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 450 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its holdings in SLM by 32.2% in the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,849 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $51,000 after buying an additional 450 shares during the period. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new position in shares of SLM during the 4th quarter worth approximately $86,000. Plato Investment Management Ltd bought a new position in shares of SLM in the 4th quarter worth approximately $114,000. Finally, Jones Financial Companies Lllp lifted its stake in shares of SLM by 489.7% in the 4th quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 4,476 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $123,000 after purchasing an additional 3,717 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 98.94% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

SLM has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Compass Point upped their price objective on shares of SLM from $31.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and issued a $33.00 target price (up from $31.00) on shares of SLM in a report on Friday. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on shares of SLM from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on shares of SLM from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, 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. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $30.73.

SLM Stock Performance

SLM traded up $0.34 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $28.55. The company had a trading volume of 1,383,215 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,196,767. The business has a 50-day moving average of $28.39 and a two-hundred day moving average of $27.23. 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 Co. has a 1 year low of $19.39 and a 1 year high of $32.65. The company has a market cap of $6.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.76, a P/E/G ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 1.05.

SLM (NASDAQ:SLM - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The credit services provider reported $1.40 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.19 by $0.21. The business had revenue of $374.97 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $359.83 million. SLM had a net margin of 20.73% and a return on equity of 31.66%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.27 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that SLM Co. will post 3.07 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

SLM Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 16th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, June 5th will be issued a dividend of $0.13 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, June 5th. This represents a $0.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.82%. SLM's dividend payout ratio is presently 18.71%.

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.