Wellington Management Group LLP Grows Stock Position in SLM Co. (NASDAQ:SLM)

Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its position in SLM Co. (NASDAQ:SLM - Free Report) by 470.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,126,756 shares of the credit services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 929,292 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP owned about 0.54% of SLM worth $31,076,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Boston Partners boosted its position in SLM by 3.9% in 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 boosted its position in 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 purchasing an additional 2,111,699 shares during the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors purchased a new position in SLM in the fourth quarter worth about $144,101,000. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its position in 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 purchasing an additional 338,128 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC purchased a new position in SLM in the fourth quarter worth about $140,442,000. 98.94% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

SLM Trading Down 0.9%

SLM stock traded down $0.30 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $32.37. The company's stock had a trading volume of 383,023 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,261,043. The company has a 50 day moving average of $29.84 and a 200-day moving average of $28.90. The stock has a market cap of $6.79 billion, a PE ratio of 12.22, a P/E/G ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.37, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a current ratio of 1.32. SLM Co. has a one year low of $19.39 and a one year high of $34.55.

SLM (NASDAQ:SLM - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 24th. The credit services provider reported $1.40 EPS 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 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 prior year, the company posted $1.27 EPS. SLM's quarterly revenue was up 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts anticipate that SLM Co. will post 3.07 EPS for the current year.

SLM Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 16th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, June 5th will be issued a $0.13 dividend. This represents a $0.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.61%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, June 5th. SLM's dividend payout ratio is 18.71%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently commented on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on SLM from $30.00 to $27.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Morgan Stanley reissued an "overweight" rating and issued a $40.00 price target (up from $33.00) on shares of SLM in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. Barclays boosted 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. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of SLM from $34.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, SLM has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $31.82.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other SLM news, Director Robert S. Strong sold 3,000 shares of the company'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 in the company, valued at approximately $1,096,324.25. This represents a 7.85% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 1.20% of the company's stock.

About SLM

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.