SLM Co. (NASDAQ:SLM) Shares Acquired by Bank of Montreal Can

Bank of Montreal Can boosted its stake in shares of SLM Co. (NASDAQ:SLM - Free Report) by 97.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 57,412 shares of the credit services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 28,369 shares during the quarter. Bank of Montreal Can's holdings in SLM were worth $1,583,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Barclays PLC grew its position in shares of SLM by 77.8% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 273,785 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $6,261,000 after purchasing an additional 119,796 shares during the period. M&T Bank Corp acquired a new position in SLM in the 3rd quarter valued at $200,000. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in SLM by 7.5% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,762,328 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $108,936,000 after purchasing an additional 331,490 shares in the last quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in SLM during the 3rd quarter worth $655,000. Finally, Tidal Investments LLC purchased a new stake in shares of SLM during the third quarter worth $1,797,000. 98.94% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

SLM has been the subject of several research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of SLM from $30.00 to $27.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Compass Point upped their price objective on SLM from $31.00 to $34.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on SLM from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on SLM from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on SLM from $32.00 to $33.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $31.18.

SLM Stock Up 3.7 %

Shares of NASDAQ:SLM traded up $1.00 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $27.71. The company's stock had a trading volume of 528,862 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,181,446. SLM Co. has a fifty-two week low of $19.39 and a fifty-two week high of $32.65. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $28.72 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $27.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.37, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a current ratio of 1.32. The company has a market capitalization of $5.83 billion, a PE ratio of 10.46, a P/E/G ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 1.05.

SLM (NASDAQ:SLM - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly 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 return on equity of 31.66% and a net margin of 20.73%. As a group, research analysts expect that SLM Co. will post 3.07 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.