Marshall Wace LLP Purchases 8,704 Shares of SLM Co. (NASDAQ:SLM)

Marshall Wace LLP grew its stake in SLM Co. (NASDAQ:SLM - Free Report) by 72.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 20,700 shares of the credit services provider's stock after buying an additional 8,704 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP's holdings in SLM were worth $571,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Private Trust Co. NA raised its holdings 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. increased its holdings in shares of SLM by 32.2% in the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,849 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $51,000 after buying an additional 450 shares during the period. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new stake in SLM during the 4th quarter valued at about $86,000. Plato Investment Management Ltd bought a new position in SLM during the 4th quarter worth approximately $114,000. Finally, Jones Financial Companies Lllp lifted its position in SLM by 489.7% in the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 4,476 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $123,000 after purchasing an additional 3,717 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 98.94% of the company's stock.

SLM Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ SLM traded down $0.34 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $31.13. 1,825,790 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,224,432. 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 firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $28.33 and a 200-day simple moving average of $27.46. SLM Co. has a 52-week low of $19.39 and a 52-week high of $32.65. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.53 billion, a PE ratio of 11.75, a P/E/G ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 1.05.

SLM (NASDAQ:SLM - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The credit services provider reported $1.40 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.19 by $0.21. The business had revenue of $374.97 million during 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%. The firm's revenue was up 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.27 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that SLM Co. will post 3.07 earnings per share for the current year.

SLM Announces Dividend

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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.67%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, June 5th. SLM's dividend payout ratio is 18.71%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have weighed in on SLM. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of SLM from $32.00 to $33.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on shares of SLM from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Compass Point increased their price target on shares of SLM from $31.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on SLM from $30.00 to $27.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased 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. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, SLM has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $30.73.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Robert S. Strong sold 3,000 shares of SLM stock in a transaction on Friday, May 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $31.15, for a total transaction of $93,450.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 35,195 shares in the company, valued at $1,096,324.25. This trade represents a 7.85 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 1.20% of the company's stock.

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.