SLM Co. (NASDAQ:SLM) Shares Bought by Tower Research Capital LLC TRC

Tower Research Capital LLC TRC boosted its stake in SLM Co. (NASDAQ:SLM - Free Report) by 277.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 22,227 shares of the credit services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 16,334 shares during the period. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC's holdings in SLM were worth $613,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Amundi raised its position in SLM by 103.4% in the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 135,014 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $3,712,000 after purchasing an additional 68,632 shares during the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp raised its holdings in shares of SLM by 9.2% in the fourth 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 boosted its stake in shares of SLM by 3.9% during the fourth 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 period. Discovery Capital Management LLC CT purchased a new position in shares of SLM during the fourth quarter worth about $5,775,000. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. increased its position in SLM by 35.3% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 415,607 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $9,596,000 after acquiring an additional 108,463 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.94% of the company's stock.

SLM Price Performance

Shares of SLM stock traded up $1.20 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $31.19. The stock had a trading volume of 2,562,355 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,226,555. SLM Co. has a 12-month low of $19.39 and a 12-month high of $32.65. The company has a current ratio of 1.32, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.37. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $28.30 and a 200 day simple moving average of $27.38. The company has a market cap of $6.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 1.05.

SLM (NASDAQ:SLM - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The credit services provider reported $1.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.19 by $0.21. The company had revenue of $374.97 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $359.83 million. SLM had a net margin of 20.73% and a return on equity of 31.66%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.27 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that SLM Co. will post 3.07 earnings per share for the current year.

SLM Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 16th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, June 5th will be issued a dividend of $0.13 per share. This represents a $0.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.67%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, June 5th. SLM's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 18.71%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

SLM has been the topic of several recent research reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on shares of SLM from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Morgan Stanley reissued an "overweight" rating and set a $33.00 price target (up from $31.00) on shares of SLM in a report on Friday, April 25th. Barclays boosted their target price on SLM from $34.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on SLM from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Finally, 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. Two investment 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, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $30.73.

About SLM

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.