14,068 Shares in SLM Co. (NASDAQ:SLM) Bought by Guggenheim Capital LLC

Guggenheim Capital LLC purchased a new position in SLM Co. (NASDAQ:SLM - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund purchased 14,068 shares of the credit services provider's stock, valued at approximately $388,000.

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

SLM Stock Up 2.6 %

SLM stock traded up $0.77 during trading on Friday, hitting $30.76. 664,201 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,210,791. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.60, a PEG ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 1.05. SLM Co. has a 1 year low of $19.39 and a 1 year high of $32.65. The company has a quick ratio of 1.27, a current ratio of 1.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.37. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $28.28 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $27.30.

SLM (NASDAQ:SLM - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The credit services provider reported $1.40 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 firm had revenue of $374.97 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $359.83 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.27 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that SLM Co. will post 3.07 EPS for the current year.

SLM Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 16th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, June 5th will be given a $0.13 dividend. This represents a $0.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.69%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, June 5th. SLM's payout ratio is currently 18.71%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on SLM. Barclays raised their price target on SLM from $34.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on SLM from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on shares of SLM from $30.00 to $27.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of SLM from $32.00 to $33.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Morgan Stanley restated an "overweight" rating and issued a $33.00 target price (up from $31.00) on shares of SLM in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, SLM presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $30.73.

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.