JBF Capital Inc. Trims Stock Position in SLM Co. (NASDAQ:SLM)

JBF Capital Inc. trimmed its position in shares of SLM Co. (NASDAQ:SLM - Free Report) by 25.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 30,000 shares of the credit services provider's stock after selling 10,000 shares during the period. JBF Capital Inc.'s holdings in SLM were worth $827,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Amundi grew its holdings in shares of SLM by 103.4% in the fourth 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 last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp grew its stake 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 in the last quarter. Boston Partners increased its position in shares of SLM by 3.9% during the fourth 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. Discovery Capital Management LLC CT bought a new stake in shares of SLM during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $5,775,000. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of SLM by 35.3% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 415,607 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $9,596,000 after purchasing an additional 108,463 shares during the period. 98.94% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

SLM Stock Down 0.4 %

Shares of SLM stock traded down $0.13 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $28.02. 1,625,850 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,194,869. SLM Co. has a fifty-two week low of $19.39 and a fifty-two week high of $32.65. The stock's 50 day moving average is $28.57 and its 200-day moving average is $27.10. The company has a current ratio of 1.32, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.37. The company has a market cap of $5.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.57, a P/E/G ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 1.05.

SLM (NASDAQ:SLM - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 firm had revenue of $374.97 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $359.83 million. SLM had a net margin of 20.73% and a return on equity of 31.66%. Analysts predict that SLM Co. will post 3.07 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

SLM Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 16th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, June 5th will be paid a dividend of $0.13 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, June 5th. This represents a $0.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.86%. SLM's payout ratio is currently 19.62%.

Insider Activity at SLM

In other SLM news, Director Robert S. Strong sold 40,000 shares of SLM stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $28.57, for a total transaction of $1,142,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 43,163 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,233,166.91. The trade was a 48.10 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 1.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SLM has been the topic of several research reports. Compass Point raised their price objective on SLM from $31.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on SLM from $32.00 to $33.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Barclays upped 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 Tuesday, February 18th. Morgan Stanley reissued an "overweight" rating and set a $33.00 target price (up previously from $31.00) on shares of SLM in a research report on Friday. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on shares of SLM from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, SLM has an average 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.