Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. Decreases Stock Position in SLM Co. (NASDAQ:SLM)

Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. reduced its position in shares of SLM Co. (NASDAQ:SLM - Free Report) by 13.5% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 194,429 shares of the credit services provider's stock after selling 30,471 shares during the quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. owned about 0.09% of SLM worth $5,710,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Amundi raised its stake in SLM by 103.4% during the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 135,014 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $3,712,000 after buying an additional 68,632 shares during the period. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp raised its stake in SLM by 9.2% during the 4th quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp now owns 223,692 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $6,169,000 after buying an additional 18,754 shares during the period. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV acquired a new position in SLM during the 4th quarter worth approximately $235,000. Boston Partners raised its stake in SLM by 3.9% during the 4th 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. Finally, Discovery Capital Management LLC CT acquired a new position in SLM during the 4th quarter worth approximately $5,775,000. 98.94% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

SLM Stock Performance

Shares of SLM traded down $0.05 on Thursday, reaching $31.63. 1,740,477 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,258,149. The company has a current ratio of 1.32, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.37. The stock has a market cap of $6.64 billion, a PE ratio of 11.94, a PEG ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 1.10. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $30.38 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $29.19. SLM Co. has a 52-week low of $19.39 and a 52-week high of $34.55.

SLM (NASDAQ:SLM - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The credit services provider reported $1.40 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.19 by $0.21. The company had revenue of $374.97 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $359.83 million. SLM had a return on equity of 31.66% and a net margin of 20.73%. SLM's revenue was up 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.27 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast 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. 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 dividend yield of 1.64%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, June 5th. SLM's payout ratio is 18.71%.

Insider Activity at SLM

In other SLM 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 value 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 1.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently commented on the company. Morgan Stanley reissued an "overweight" rating and issued a $40.00 price objective (up from $33.00) on shares of SLM in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on SLM from $30.00 to $27.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Barclays increased their price objective on SLM from $34.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, May 30th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on SLM from $34.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, SLM currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $32.30.

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.