Ethic Inc. Acquires Shares of 8,824 SLM Co. (NASDAQ:SLM)

Ethic Inc. purchased a new position in shares of SLM Co. (NASDAQ:SLM - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 8,824 shares of the credit services provider's stock, valued at approximately $243,000.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Boston Partners lifted its stake in SLM by 3.9% during the fourth quarter. Boston Partners now owns 12,246,797 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $338,889,000 after purchasing an additional 456,415 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC increased 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 purchased a new position in shares of SLM in the fourth quarter worth about $144,101,000. American Century Companies Inc. increased 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 shares of SLM in the fourth quarter worth about $140,442,000. Institutional investors own 98.94% of the company's stock.

SLM Trading Down 0.2%

NASDAQ:SLM traded down $0.07 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $33.58. 2,003,515 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,252,981. SLM Co. has a 12-month low of $19.39 and a 12-month high of $33.95. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.67, a PEG ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.37, a current ratio of 1.32 and a quick ratio of 1.27. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $29.40 and a 200-day moving average price of $28.43.

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

SLM Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 16th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, June 5th will be given a dividend of $0.13 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, June 5th. This represents a $0.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.55%. SLM's payout ratio is 18.71%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

SLM has been the topic of several analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on SLM from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $40.00 price objective (up previously from $33.00) on shares of SLM in a report on Wednesday. Barclays lifted their price objective on SLM from $34.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on SLM from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Compass Point lifted their price objective on SLM from $31.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $31.82.

Insider Buying and Selling at SLM

In other SLM news, Director Robert S. Strong sold 3,000 shares of SLM stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the director now directly owns 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 legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 1.20% of the company's stock.

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.