Vise Technologies Inc. Buys Shares of 8,623 SLM Co. (NASDAQ:SLM)

Vise Technologies Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of SLM Co. (NASDAQ:SLM - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund acquired 8,623 shares of the credit services provider's stock, valued at approximately $238,000.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Private Trust Co. NA boosted its stake in shares of SLM by 86.4% in the fourth quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 971 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 450 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its position in shares of SLM by 32.2% during the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,849 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $51,000 after acquiring an additional 450 shares during the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new position in SLM during the fourth quarter valued at $86,000. Plato Investment Management Ltd purchased a new position in SLM during the fourth quarter valued at $114,000. Finally, Jones Financial Companies Lllp increased its holdings in SLM by 489.7% in the 4th quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 4,476 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $123,000 after acquiring an additional 3,717 shares during the last quarter. 98.94% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

SLM Price Performance

Shares of SLM stock remained flat at $32.37 on Monday. The company had a trading volume of 1,981,946 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,266,167. SLM Co. has a 12-month low of $19.39 and a 12-month high of $34.55. 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 capitalization of $6.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $29.78 and a 200 day simple moving average of $28.88.

SLM (NASDAQ:SLM - Get Free Report) last posted 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. The firm 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%. The firm's revenue was up 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.27 EPS. Research analysts forecast that SLM Co. will post 3.07 EPS for the current year.

SLM Dividend Announcement

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

SLM has been the topic of several research reports. Barclays lifted their target price on SLM from $34.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday. Wells Fargo & Company lifted 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. Morgan Stanley reiterated an "overweight" rating and set a $40.00 target price (up from $33.00) on shares of SLM in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price 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. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $31.82.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other SLM news, Director Robert S. Strong sold 3,000 shares of SLM 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 owns 35,195 shares in the company, valued at $1,096,324.25. The trade was a 7.85% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 1.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.