GAMMA Investing LLC Buys 229,219 Shares of SLM Co. (NASDAQ:SLM)

GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in SLM Co. (NASDAQ:SLM - Free Report) by 3,400.9% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 235,959 shares of the credit services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 229,219 shares during the quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC owned approximately 0.11% of SLM worth $6,930,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in SLM. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its position in shares of SLM by 470.6% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,126,756 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $31,076,000 after acquiring an additional 929,292 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its position in shares of SLM by 4.3% during the 4th quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 34,709 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $957,000 after purchasing an additional 1,436 shares during the last quarter. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH purchased a new stake in shares of SLM during the 4th quarter valued at $5,107,000. Invst LLC raised its stake in shares of SLM by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. Invst LLC now owns 40,896 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $1,128,000 after purchasing an additional 703 shares during the period. Finally, Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC purchased a new position in shares of SLM in the 4th quarter worth about $140,442,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.94% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Robert S. Strong sold 3,000 shares of the firm's 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 35,195 shares in the company, valued at $1,096,324.25. This trade represents a 7.85% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 1.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

SLM Stock Performance

SLM stock traded down $0.05 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $31.63. 1,740,477 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,265,058. SLM Co. has a 52 week low of $19.39 and a 52 week high of $34.55. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $30.25 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $29.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.37, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a current ratio of 1.32. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.64 billion, a PE ratio of 11.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 1.10.

SLM (NASDAQ:SLM - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data 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. SLM had a net margin of 20.73% and a return on equity of 31.66%. The company had revenue of $374.97 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $359.83 million. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.27 earnings per share. SLM's revenue was up 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that SLM Co. will post 3.07 EPS for the current year.

SLM Announces Dividend

The company 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 $0.13 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, June 5th. This represents a $0.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.64%. SLM's payout ratio is 18.71%.

SLM 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.