SLM Co. (NASDAQ:SLM) Shares Purchased by Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt

Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt boosted its position in SLM Co. (NASDAQ:SLM - Free Report) by 162.2% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 82,600 shares of the credit services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 51,100 shares during the quarter. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt's holdings in SLM were worth $2,423,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in SLM. Amundi grew its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 68,632 shares during the period. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp boosted its holdings in SLM by 9.2% in 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 acquiring an additional 18,754 shares during the period. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV purchased a new position in SLM in the 4th quarter worth approximately $235,000. Boston Partners boosted its holdings in SLM by 3.9% in the 4th quarter. Boston Partners now owns 12,246,797 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $338,889,000 after acquiring an additional 456,415 shares during the period. Finally, Discovery Capital Management LLC CT purchased a new position in SLM in the 4th quarter worth approximately $5,775,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.94% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at SLM

In other SLM news, Director Robert S. Strong sold 3,000 shares of the 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 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 sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Corporate insiders own 1.30% of the company's stock.

SLM Stock Down 1.4%

Shares of SLM traded down $0.43 during trading on Friday, reaching $31.20. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,016,806 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,261,730. The company has a fifty day moving average of $30.51 and a two-hundred day moving average of $29.22. SLM Co. has a twelve month low of $19.39 and a twelve month high of $34.55. The company has a market cap of $6.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.77, a P/E/G ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a quick ratio of 1.27, a current ratio of 1.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.37.

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

SLM Dividend Announcement

The company 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.67%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, June 5th. SLM's dividend payout ratio is currently 18.71%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Barclays upped their price target on SLM from $34.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, May 30th. Morgan Stanley restated 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. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on SLM from $34.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on SLM from $30.00 to $27.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price 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.