SLM Co. (NASDAQ:SLM) Shares Purchased by JPMorgan Chase & Co.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its holdings in shares of SLM Co. (NASDAQ:SLM) by 2.8% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 669,263 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 18,470 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. owned approximately 0.32% of SLM worth $15,306,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in SLM. State Street Corp boosted its position in SLM by 0.6% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 6,923,576 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $158,342,000 after purchasing an additional 43,927 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in SLM by 2.1% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 5,687,920 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $118,248,000 after buying an additional 119,342 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of 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 worth $108,936,000 after acquiring an additional 331,490 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. raised its stake in SLM by 23.9% during the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 4,453,521 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $92,589,000 after purchasing an additional 859,625 shares during the period. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its position in shares of SLM by 3,800.6% during the 3rd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 2,406,384 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $55,034,000 after purchasing an additional 2,344,691 shares during the last quarter. 98.94% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

SLM Stock Down 2.0 %

Shares of NASDAQ:SLM opened at $26.95 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $26.20 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $23.32. The company has a current ratio of 1.29, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.21. SLM Co. has a 12-month low of $18.25 and a 12-month high of $28.91. The firm has a market cap of $5.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.39, a PEG ratio of 0.85 and a beta of 1.21.

SLM (NASDAQ:SLM) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The credit services provider reported ($0.23) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.07 by ($0.30). SLM had a net margin of 22.18% and a return on equity of 35.92%. The business had revenue of $652.64 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $363.40 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.11 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that SLM Co. will post 2.73 EPS for the current year.

SLM Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 16th. Investors of record on Thursday, December 5th were issued a dividend of $0.13 per share. This represents a $0.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.93%. This is a positive change from SLM’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.11. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, December 5th. SLM’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 18.12%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Robert S. Strong sold 4,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $27.25, for a total transaction of $122,625.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 83,130 shares in the company, valued at $2,265,292.50. This trade represents a 5.14 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 1.20% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on SLM shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and issued a $30.00 price objective (up from $27.00) on shares of SLM in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of SLM from $26.00 to $32.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $26.00 price objective on shares of SLM in a report on Thursday, October 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of SLM from $24.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Finally, Bank of America assumed coverage on SLM in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $27.00 target price on the stock. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $27.27.

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.