Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA Sells 1,524,889 Shares of SLM Co. (NASDAQ:SLM)

Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA reduced its position in shares of SLM Co. (NASDAQ:SLM - Free Report) by 11.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 12,047,960 shares of the credit services provider's stock after selling 1,524,889 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA owned about 5.32% of SLM worth $230,357,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Blue Trust Inc. raised its stake in shares of SLM by 81.4% in the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,328 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 596 shares during the last quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of SLM in the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. Headlands Technologies LLC raised its stake in shares of SLM by 46.4% in the fourth quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC now owns 2,330 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $45,000 after acquiring an additional 739 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC bought a new position in shares of SLM in the fourth quarter worth about $76,000. Finally, Signaturefd LLC grew its position in shares of SLM by 7.7% during the 4th quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 7,891 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $151,000 after buying an additional 565 shares during the period. 98.94% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

SLM Trading Down 0.7 %

NASDAQ SLM traded down $0.16 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $21.33. 1,340,590 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,040,785. The company has a quick ratio of 1.23, a current ratio of 1.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.67. SLM Co. has a fifty-two week low of $12.26 and a fifty-two week high of $22.74. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $21.25 and its 200 day moving average price is $18.95. The firm has a market cap of $4.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.44 and a beta of 1.17.

SLM (NASDAQ:SLM - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The credit services provider reported $1.27 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.09 by $0.18. SLM had a net margin of 25.15% and a return on equity of 45.65%. The firm had revenue of $837.72 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $376.43 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.47 earnings per share. Analysts predict that SLM Co. will post 2.75 EPS for the current year.

SLM Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 17th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, June 6th will be paid a $0.11 dividend. This represents a $0.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.06%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, June 6th. SLM's payout ratio is currently 13.75%.

SLM announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback program on Wednesday, January 24th that allows the company to repurchase $650.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the credit services provider to reacquire up to 14.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are usually an indication that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of SLM from $22.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on shares of SLM from $24.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of SLM from $22.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 18th. TheStreet upgraded shares of SLM from a "c+" rating to a "b" rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 24th. Finally, Wedbush lifted their price target on shares of SLM from $26.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, SLM presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $21.32.

Insider Buying and Selling at SLM

In other news, SVP Jonathan Boyles sold 94,078 shares of the business's stock in a transaction 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 sale, the senior vice president now owns 52,751 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,093,000.72. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.91% 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.