Dorsey Wright & Associates Purchases New Holdings in SLM Corporation (NASDAQ:SLM)

Dorsey Wright & Associates bought a new stake in SLM Corporation (NASDAQ:SLM - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 66,086 shares of the credit services provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,941,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Capital Research Global Investors acquired a new stake in SLM during the fourth quarter worth $144,101,000. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC acquired a new stake in shares of SLM in the fourth quarter valued at $140,442,000. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of SLM in the fourth quarter valued at $76,362,000. Duquesne Family Office LLC acquired a new stake in shares of SLM in the fourth quarter valued at $69,509,000. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of SLM in the fourth quarter valued at $68,603,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.94% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at SLM

In other news, Director Robert S. Strong sold 3,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $31.15, for a total value of $93,450.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 35,195 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,096,324.25. The trade was a 7.85% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 1.30% of the company's stock.

SLM Stock Up 2.3%

NASDAQ SLM traded up $0.73 during trading on Friday, reaching $32.74. 4,763,027 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,087,752. The stock has a market cap of $6.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.73 and a beta of 1.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.86, a quick ratio of 1.34 and a current ratio of 1.34. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $32.75 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $30.38. SLM Corporation has a 1 year low of $19.39 and a 1 year high of $34.97.

SLM (NASDAQ:SLM - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 24th. The credit services provider reported $0.32 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.49 by ($0.17). SLM had a net margin of 15.46% and a return on equity of 22.33%. The firm had revenue of $403.60 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $370.26 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.11 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 21.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that SLM Corporation will post 3.07 EPS for the current fiscal year.

SLM Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, September 4th will be issued a $0.13 dividend. This represents a $0.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.59%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, September 4th. SLM's payout ratio is currently 18.71%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on SLM. Barclays lifted their price objective on SLM from $38.00 to $43.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of SLM in a research note on Monday, July 14th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on SLM from $34.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on SLM from $33.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Morgan Stanley reissued an "overweight" rating and set a $40.00 target price (up from $33.00) on shares of SLM in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $35.00.

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.