Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC Acquires New Stake in SLM Co. (NASDAQ:SLM)

Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC purchased a new stake in SLM Co. (NASDAQ:SLM - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 5,092,179 shares of the credit services provider's stock, valued at approximately $140,442,000. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC owned about 2.40% of SLM as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Boston Partners boosted its position 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 valued at $338,889,000 after acquiring an additional 456,415 shares during the period. FMR LLC boosted its holdings in SLM by 39.0% in the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 7,529,496 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $207,664,000 after purchasing an additional 2,111,699 shares during the period. Capital Research Global Investors acquired a new position in shares of SLM during the 4th quarter worth approximately $144,101,000. American Century Companies Inc. increased its holdings in shares of SLM by 7.0% during 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 purchasing an additional 338,128 shares during the period. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of SLM by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,817,771 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $132,906,000 after buying an additional 55,443 shares in the last quarter. 98.94% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Robert S. Strong sold 3,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, May 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $31.15, for a total transaction of $93,450.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 35,195 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,096,324.25. This trade represents a 7.85% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 1.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

SLM Stock Down 2.3%

NASDAQ SLM traded down $0.79 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $33.57. The company's stock had a trading volume of 772,460 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,251,203. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.66, a PEG ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 1.05. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $29.56 and its 200 day simple moving average is $28.60. The company has a current ratio of 1.32, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.37. SLM Co. has a twelve month low of $19.39 and a twelve month high of $35.05.

SLM (NASDAQ:SLM - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 24th. The credit services provider reported $1.40 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 firm had revenue of $374.97 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $359.83 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.27 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that SLM Co. will post 3.07 earnings per share 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, June 5th. This represents a $0.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.55%. SLM's payout ratio is 18.71%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on SLM shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on shares of SLM from $30.00 to $27.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on SLM from $34.00 to $38.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. Barclays raised 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. Finally, Morgan Stanley reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $40.00 target price (up from $33.00) on shares of SLM in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $31.82.

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.