Renaissance Technologies LLC Acquires New Position in SLM Co. (NASDAQ:SLM)

Renaissance Technologies LLC acquired a new stake in shares of SLM Co. (NASDAQ:SLM - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 219,600 shares of the credit services provider's stock, valued at approximately $6,057,000. Renaissance Technologies LLC owned about 0.10% of SLM at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Shelton Capital Management bought a new stake in shares of SLM in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $219,000. Invesco Ltd. increased its stake in SLM by 35.8% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,684,793 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $46,467,000 after purchasing an additional 443,726 shares during the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can raised its holdings in shares of SLM by 97.7% during the fourth quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 57,412 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $1,583,000 after purchasing an additional 28,369 shares during the period. Cerity Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of SLM by 20.0% in the 4th quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 68,123 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $1,850,000 after buying an additional 11,357 shares during the last quarter. Finally, FMR LLC boosted its holdings in shares of SLM by 39.0% in the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 7,529,496 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $207,664,000 after buying an additional 2,111,699 shares during the period. 98.94% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

SLM has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on SLM from $32.00 to $33.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on shares of SLM from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Compass Point lifted their price target on SLM from $31.00 to $34.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on SLM from $32.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, March 10th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on SLM from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $31.18.

SLM Price Performance

SLM stock traded up $0.85 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $28.00. The company's stock had a trading volume of 652,289 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,002,770. SLM Co. has a 12 month low of $19.39 and a 12 month high of $32.65. 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 stock's 50-day moving average price is $28.64 and its 200-day moving average price is $27.06. The company has a market capitalization of $5.89 billion, a PE ratio of 10.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 1.05.

SLM (NASDAQ:SLM - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The credit services provider reported $0.50 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.56 by ($0.06). SLM had a net margin of 20.73% and a return on equity of 31.66%. Analysts anticipate that SLM Co. will post 3.07 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

SLM Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 16th. Investors 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 dividend yield of 1.86%. SLM's payout ratio is 19.62%.

Insider Transactions at SLM

In other news, Director Robert S. Strong sold 40,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $28.57, for a total value of $1,142,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 43,163 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,233,166.91. This trade represents a 48.10 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 1.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.