Vanguard Group Inc. Raises Stake in SLM Co. (NASDAQ:SLM)

Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in SLM Co. (NASDAQ:SLM) by 3.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 33,136,784 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,151,557 shares during the quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. owned about 15.04% of SLM worth $633,575,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of SLM by 81.4% during the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,328 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 596 shares during the period. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of SLM in the fourth quarter valued at about $29,000. Neo Ivy Capital Management purchased a new stake in shares of SLM in the fourth quarter valued at about $40,000. Headlands Technologies LLC increased its stake in shares of SLM by 46.4% during the fourth quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC now owns 2,330 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $45,000 after acquiring an additional 739 shares during the period. Finally, Quadrant Capital Group LLC raised its holdings in SLM by 39.5% during the fourth quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 2,976 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $57,000 after purchasing an additional 843 shares in the last quarter. 98.94% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

SLM Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:SLM opened at $20.82 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.67, a quick ratio of 1.23 and a current ratio of 1.23. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $21.07 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $20.22. The stock has a market cap of $4.57 billion, a PE ratio of 6.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.41 and a beta of 1.16. SLM Co. has a one year low of $12.26 and a one year high of $22.74.

SLM (NASDAQ:SLM) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 24th. The credit services provider reported $1.27 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.09 by $0.18. The business had revenue of $837.72 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $376.43 million. SLM had a return on equity of 45.65% and a net margin of 25.15%. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.47 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that SLM Co. will post 2.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

SLM Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 17th. Investors of record on Thursday, June 6th were paid a dividend of $0.11 per share. This represents a $0.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.11%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, June 6th. SLM’s payout ratio is 13.75%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have issued reports on SLM. TD Cowen boosted their target price on SLM from $25.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 4th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on SLM from $22.00 to $24.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 18th. Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating and set a $28.00 target price on shares of SLM in a research report on Thursday, May 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of SLM from $22.00 to $23.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, April 25th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on shares of SLM from $24.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, April 25th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $22.18.

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.