Mubadala Investment Co PJSC Makes New $2.50 Million Investment in SLM Co. (NASDAQ:SLM)

Mubadala Investment Co PJSC acquired a new position in shares of SLM Co. (NASDAQ:SLM - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 90,700 shares of the credit services provider's stock, valued at approximately $2,502,000.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Amundi increased its stake in shares of SLM by 103.4% during 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 period. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp boosted its position in shares of SLM by 9.2% in the fourth quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp now owns 223,692 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $6,169,000 after acquiring an additional 18,754 shares during the period. Boston Partners increased its position in 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 4th quarter valued at $5,775,000. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its position in shares of SLM by 35.3% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 415,607 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $9,596,000 after acquiring an additional 108,463 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 98.94% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Robert S. Strong sold 3,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated 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 directly 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Corporate insiders own 1.20% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently weighed in on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on SLM from $30.00 to $27.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on SLM from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Morgan Stanley restated an "overweight" rating and issued a $33.00 price target (up from $31.00) on shares of SLM in a report on Friday, April 25th. Barclays raised their price target on shares of SLM from $34.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, Compass Point raised their price target on shares of SLM from $31.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Two research 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 currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $31.18.

SLM Stock Up 0.9%

Shares of NASDAQ SLM traded up $0.29 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $33.69. 1,456,512 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,259,722. The stock has a market cap of $7.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.71, a PEG ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 1.05. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $28.95 and a 200 day simple moving average of $28.07. SLM Co. has a 1-year low of $19.39 and a 1-year high of $33.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.37, a current ratio of 1.32 and a quick ratio of 1.27.

SLM (NASDAQ:SLM - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 24th. The credit services provider reported $1.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates 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 net margin of 20.73% and a return on equity of 31.66%. The business's revenue was up 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.27 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that SLM Co. will post 3.07 EPS for the current fiscal year.

SLM Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 16th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, June 5th will be issued a dividend of $0.13 per share. This represents a $0.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.54%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, June 5th. SLM's dividend payout ratio is currently 18.71%.

About SLM

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.