Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV purchased a new position in shares of SLM Co. (NASDAQ:SLM - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 8,513 shares of the credit services provider's stock, valued at approximately $235,000.
Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Barclays PLC increased its holdings in SLM by 77.8% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 273,785 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $6,261,000 after buying an additional 119,796 shares in the last quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in SLM in the fourth quarter valued at about $202,000. Perpetual Ltd purchased a new position in SLM in the fourth quarter valued at about $6,488,000. Dakota Wealth Management purchased a new position in SLM in the fourth quarter valued at about $262,000. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. increased its holdings in SLM by 32.2% in the fourth 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. 98.94% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.
Insider Buying and Selling
In other SLM news, Director Robert S. Strong sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 of the company's stock, valued at $1,096,324.25. This trade represents a 7.85% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 1.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.
SLM Trading Up 2.6%
NASDAQ SLM traded up $0.86 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $33.65. 2,345,748 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,252,443. SLM Co. has a 1-year low of $19.39 and a 1-year high of $33.94. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $29.31 and its 200 day simple moving average is $28.35. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.06 billion, a PE ratio of 12.70, a PEG ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.37, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a current ratio of 1.32.
SLM (NASDAQ:SLM - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The credit services provider reported $1.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.19 by $0.21. SLM had a net margin of 20.73% and a return on equity of 31.66%. The firm had revenue of $374.97 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $359.83 million. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.27 earnings per share. SLM's revenue was up 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts anticipate that SLM Co. will post 3.07 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
SLM Announces Dividend
The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 16th. Investors of record on Thursday, June 5th will be given a dividend of $0.13 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, June 5th. This represents a $0.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.55%. SLM's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 18.71%.
Wall Street Analyst Weigh In
A number of research analysts have issued reports on SLM shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on shares of SLM from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Compass Point increased their target price on shares of SLM from $31.00 to $34.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on shares of SLM from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of SLM from $34.00 to $38.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on shares of SLM from $30.00 to $27.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $31.82.
Read Our Latest Stock Analysis on SLM
About SLM
(
Free Report)
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.
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