18,041 Shares in SLM Co. (NASDAQ:SLM) Purchased by Two Sigma Securities LLC

Two Sigma Securities LLC purchased a new stake in shares of SLM Co. (NASDAQ:SLM - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 18,041 shares of the credit services provider's stock, valued at approximately $498,000.

Several other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Barclays PLC boosted its position in SLM by 77.8% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 273,785 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $6,261,000 after purchasing an additional 119,796 shares during the period. Tidal Investments LLC bought a new stake in SLM in the third quarter valued at about $1,797,000. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its stake 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 buying an additional 108,463 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its position in shares of SLM by 2.8% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 669,263 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $15,306,000 after purchasing an additional 18,470 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in shares of SLM by 32.8% in the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 6,740 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $186,000 after acquiring an additional 1,663 shares in the last quarter. 98.94% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

SLM Trading Up 3.3 %

NASDAQ SLM traded up $1.00 during trading on Friday, hitting $30.99. 1,206,311 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,006,481. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $28.28 and a two-hundred day moving average of $27.30. SLM Co. has a 12-month low of $19.39 and a 12-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 firm has a market cap of $6.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.70, a PEG ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 1.05.

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

SLM Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 16th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, June 5th will be paid a $0.13 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, June 5th. This represents a $0.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.68%. SLM's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 18.71%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have issued reports on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on SLM from $30.00 to $27.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of SLM from $34.00 to $38.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on shares of 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 increased 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, Morgan Stanley restated an "overweight" rating and set a $33.00 price objective (up previously from $31.00) on shares of SLM in a report on Friday, April 25th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target 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.