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

Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its stake in SLM Co. (NASDAQ:SLM - Free Report) by 3.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 831,008 shares of the credit services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 26,902 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD owned about 0.39% of SLM worth $22,920,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Amundi lifted its position in SLM by 103.4% during the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 135,014 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $3,712,000 after acquiring an additional 68,632 shares during the period. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp grew its position in SLM by 9.2% in the 4th quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp now owns 223,692 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $6,169,000 after buying an additional 18,754 shares during the last quarter. Boston Partners raised its position in SLM by 3.9% during the 4th quarter. Boston Partners now owns 12,246,797 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $338,889,000 after buying an additional 456,415 shares during the last quarter. Discovery Capital Management LLC CT acquired a new position in shares of SLM during the fourth quarter worth about $5,775,000. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. raised its stake 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 worth $9,596,000 after buying an additional 108,463 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.94% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other SLM news, Director Robert S. Strong sold 3,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $31.15, for a total transaction of $93,450.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 35,195 shares in the company, valued at $1,096,324.25. This trade represents a 7.85 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 1.20% of the company's stock.

SLM Trading Up 0.5 %

NASDAQ:SLM traded up $0.17 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $31.30. The company's stock had a trading volume of 338,824 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,219,475. The stock has a market cap of $6.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.83, a P/E/G ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 1.05. SLM Co. has a twelve month low of $19.39 and a twelve month high of $32.65. 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 company's fifty day simple moving average is $28.35 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $27.49.

SLM (NASDAQ:SLM - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 company had revenue of $374.97 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $359.83 million. SLM had a return on equity of 31.66% and a net margin of 20.73%. The firm's revenue was up 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.27 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that SLM Co. will post 3.07 EPS for the current year.

SLM Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced 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 is Thursday, June 5th. This represents a $0.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.66%. SLM's payout ratio is currently 18.71%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on SLM shares. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on SLM from $32.00 to $33.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Compass Point raised their price objective 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. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on shares of SLM from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on SLM from $30.00 to $27.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on SLM from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research report 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, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $30.73.

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.