SLM Co. (NASDAQ:SLM) Shares Sold by Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc.

Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. lessened its holdings in SLM Co. (NASDAQ:SLM - Free Report) by 16.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,452,519 shares of the credit services provider's stock after selling 483,879 shares during the quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. owned about 1.16% of SLM worth $67,640,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Private Trust Co. NA lifted its position in shares of SLM by 86.4% during the 4th quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 971 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 450 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its position in shares of 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 buying an additional 450 shares in the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new position in shares of SLM during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $86,000. Plato Investment Management Ltd purchased a new position in shares of SLM during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $114,000. Finally, Jones Financial Companies Lllp lifted its position in shares of SLM by 489.7% during the 4th 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 in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.94% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have weighed in on SLM shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on SLM from $30.00 to $27.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Barclays raised their target price on SLM from $34.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed 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. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on SLM from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Compass Point raised their target price on SLM from $31.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $31.18.

SLM Stock Down 0.2%

SLM stock traded down $0.07 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $33.63. 1,457,722 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,251,205. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $28.75 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $27.88. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.69, a PEG ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 1.05. SLM Co. has a 52-week low of $19.39 and a 52-week high of $33.88. The company has a current ratio of 1.32, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.37.

SLM (NASDAQ:SLM - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The credit services provider reported $1.40 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.19 by $0.21. The firm had revenue of $374.97 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations 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 quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.27 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that SLM Co. will post 3.07 EPS for the current year.

SLM Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed 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 yield of 1.55%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, June 5th. SLM's dividend payout ratio is currently 18.71%.

Insider Buying and Selling at SLM

In other SLM news, Director Robert S. Strong sold 3,000 shares of the business'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 value of $93,450.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 35,195 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,096,324.25. The trade was a 7.85% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 1.20% of the stock is owned by company 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.