SLM Co. (NASDAQ:SLM) Shares Bought by Dimensional Fund Advisors LP

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in SLM Co. (NASDAQ:SLM) by 2.1% during the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 5,687,920 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 119,342 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP owned approximately 2.62% of SLM worth $118,248,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC raised its position in SLM by 1,373.3% during the 1st quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,326 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 1,236 shares during the last quarter. SYSTM Wealth Solutions LLC raised its holdings in shares of SLM by 37.0% during the first quarter. SYSTM Wealth Solutions LLC now owns 1,828 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 494 shares during the last quarter. Neo Ivy Capital Management acquired a new position in SLM during the fourth quarter valued at $40,000. Quadrant Capital Group LLC boosted its holdings in SLM by 39.5% in the fourth quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 2,976 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $57,000 after purchasing an additional 843 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Quarry LP grew its position in SLM by 78.6% during the 4th quarter. Quarry LP now owns 2,962 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $57,000 after purchasing an additional 1,304 shares during the period. 98.94% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

SLM Price Performance

NASDAQ:SLM opened at $22.07 on Monday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $21.59 and a two-hundred day moving average of $21.24. SLM Co. has a 12 month low of $12.26 and a 12 month high of $23.95. The firm has a market cap of $4.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.41 and a beta of 1.15. The company has a current ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.66.

SLM (NASDAQ:SLM) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The credit services provider reported $1.11 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.79 by $0.32. The firm had revenue of $783.28 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $368.97 million. SLM had a return on equity of 41.84% and a net margin of 24.67%. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.10 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that SLM Co. will post 2.83 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

SLM Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 16th. Investors of record on Thursday, September 5th were given a dividend of $0.11 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, September 5th. This represents a $0.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.99%. SLM’s payout ratio is presently 13.75%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on SLM shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price objective on SLM from $25.00 to $29.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 25th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on shares of SLM from $25.00 to $27.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. TD Cowen increased their price target on shares of SLM from $25.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 4th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of SLM from $24.00 to $27.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of SLM from $23.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $24.00.

Insider Activity at SLM

In other SLM news, Director Robert S. Strong sold 4,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $22.70, for a total value of $102,150.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 101,093 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,294,811.10. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 1.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

SLM Company 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.