Nomura Holdings Inc. acquired a new stake in SLM Co. (NASDAQ:SLM - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 28,174 shares of the credit services provider's stock, valued at approximately $777,000.
A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Capital Research Global Investors bought a new position in shares of SLM in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $144,101,000. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC bought a new stake in shares of SLM in the 4th quarter worth approximately $140,442,000. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of SLM in the 4th quarter worth about $76,362,000. Duquesne Family Office LLC purchased a new position in shares of SLM in the 4th quarter worth about $69,509,000. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of SLM during the fourth quarter valued at $68,603,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.94% of the company's stock.
Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth
SLM has been the subject of several analyst reports. Barclays raised their price objective on SLM from $34.00 to $38.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an "overweight" rating and set a $40.00 price objective (up from $33.00) on shares of SLM in a research note on Wednesday. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of SLM from $34.00 to $38.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased 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. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $31.82.
View Our Latest Stock Analysis on SLM
SLM Stock Down 0.2%
SLM stock traded down $0.07 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $33.58. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,003,515 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,257,425. 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 market cap of $7.05 billion, a PE ratio of 12.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 1.05. The firm's 50 day moving average is $29.40 and its 200 day moving average is $28.49. SLM Co. has a 52-week low of $19.39 and a 52-week high of $33.95.
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 the consensus estimate of $1.19 by $0.21. SLM had a return on equity of 31.66% and a net margin of 20.73%. The business had revenue of $374.97 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $359.83 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.27 EPS. SLM's revenue for the quarter was up 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts anticipate that SLM Co. will post 3.07 earnings per share for the current 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 paid a dividend of $0.13 per share. This represents a $0.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.55%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, June 5th. SLM's payout ratio is 18.71%.
Insiders Place Their Bets
In other news, Director Robert S. Strong sold 3,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated 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 owns 35,195 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,096,324.25. This trade represents a 7.85% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 1.20% of the company's stock.
SLM Profile
(
Free Report)
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.
Read More
Before you consider SLM, you'll want to hear this.
MarketBeat keeps track of Wall Street's top-rated and best performing research analysts and the stocks they recommend to their clients on a daily basis. MarketBeat has identified the five stocks that top analysts are quietly whispering to their clients to buy now before the broader market catches on... and SLM wasn't on the list.
While SLM currently has a Moderate Buy rating among analysts, top-rated analysts believe these five stocks are better buys.
View The Five Stocks Here
Nuclear energy stocks are roaring. It's the hottest energy sector of the year. Cameco Corp, Paladin Energy, and BWX Technologies were all up more than 40% in 2024. The biggest market moves could still be ahead of us, and there are seven nuclear energy stocks that could rise much higher in the next several months. To unlock these tickers, enter your email address below.
Get This Free Report
Like this article? Share it with a colleague.
Link copied to clipboard.
