SLM Co. (NASDAQ:SLM) Shares Purchased by Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD

Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its holdings in shares of SLM Co. (NASDAQ:SLM - Free Report) by 3.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 831,008 shares of the credit services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 26,902 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD owned approximately 0.39% of SLM worth $22,920,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Private Trust Co. NA grew its stake in shares of SLM by 86.4% during the 4th quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 971 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 450 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its holdings in SLM by 32.2% during the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,849 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $51,000 after buying an additional 450 shares in the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new stake in SLM during the fourth quarter valued at $86,000. Plato Investment Management Ltd purchased a new position in SLM in the fourth quarter valued at $114,000. Finally, Jones Financial Companies Lllp raised its position in shares of SLM by 489.7% in the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 4,476 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $123,000 after acquiring an additional 3,717 shares during the period. 98.94% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

SLM Price Performance

NASDAQ SLM traded up $1.20 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $31.19. 2,562,355 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,226,555. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.37, a current ratio of 1.32 and a quick ratio of 1.27. The firm's 50-day moving average is $28.30 and its 200-day moving average is $27.41. SLM Co. has a 52-week low of $19.39 and a 52-week high of $32.65. The company has a market capitalization of $6.55 billion, a PE ratio of 11.77, a PEG ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 1.05.

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

SLM Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 16th. Stockholders 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.67%. SLM's payout ratio is 18.71%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

SLM has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted 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. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on SLM from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an "overweight" rating and set a $33.00 target price (up previously from $31.00) on shares of SLM in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Compass Point lifted their price target on shares of SLM from $31.00 to $34.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Barclays upped their price objective on shares of SLM from $34.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, SLM has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $30.73.

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.