Sapient Capital LLC Makes New Investment in SLM Co. (NASDAQ:SLM)

Sapient Capital LLC purchased a new position in SLM Co. (NASDAQ:SLM - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 93,356 shares of the credit services provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,785,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of SLM. Blue Trust Inc. grew its position in SLM by 81.4% in the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,328 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 596 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of SLM during the third quarter valued at about $39,000. Industrial Alliance Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of SLM by 257.3% during the fourth quarter. Industrial Alliance Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,805 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $47,000 after acquiring an additional 2,020 shares in the last quarter. CWM LLC raised its holdings in shares of SLM by 51.9% in the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 5,632 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $77,000 after acquiring an additional 1,925 shares during the last quarter. Finally, State of Wyoming bought a new position in SLM in the 2nd quarter valued at about $112,000. 98.94% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at SLM

In related news, SVP Jonathan Boyles sold 94,078 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.72, for a total value of $1,949,296.16. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 52,751 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,093,000.72. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other SLM news, SVP Jonathan Boyles sold 94,078 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.72, for a total value of $1,949,296.16. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 52,751 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,093,000.72. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Donna F. Vieira sold 12,308 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.27, for a total value of $249,483.16. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 126,500 shares in the company, valued at $2,564,155. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.91% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have commented on SLM. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on SLM from $21.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 25th. TheStreet upgraded SLM from a "c+" rating to a "b" rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of SLM from $20.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft initiated coverage on shares of SLM in a report on Wednesday, January 10th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $25.00 target price for the company. Finally, Citigroup upgraded shares of SLM from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $14.00 to $23.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 16th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $19.95.

SLM Stock Performance

Shares of SLM stock traded down $0.33 on Friday, reaching $20.67. 770,696 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,218,632. The company has a 50 day moving average of $20.59 and a 200 day moving average of $17.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.21, a current ratio of 1.22 and a quick ratio of 1.22. SLM Co. has a 52 week low of $12.26 and a 52 week high of $21.94. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.55 billion, a PE ratio of 8.59, a PEG ratio of 0.43 and a beta of 1.16.

SLM (NASDAQ:SLM - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 30th. The credit services provider reported $0.72 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.87 by ($0.15). The firm had revenue of $725.66 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $379.20 million. SLM had a net margin of 20.65% and a return on equity of 36.86%. During the same period last year, the company posted ($0.33) earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that SLM Co. will post 2.69 earnings per share for the current year.

SLM announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, January 24th that authorizes the company to repurchase $650.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the credit services provider to repurchase up to 14.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

SLM Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Investors of record on Monday, March 4th were paid a $0.11 dividend. This represents a $0.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.13%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 1st. SLM's dividend payout ratio is currently 18.33%.

SLM Company 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.