Intech Investment Management LLC Purchases Shares of 125,747 SLM Co. (NASDAQ:SLM)

Intech Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of SLM Co. (NASDAQ:SLM) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 125,747 shares of the credit services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $2,614,000. Intech Investment Management LLC owned 0.06% of SLM at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in SLM. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of SLM by 1,373.3% during the first quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,326 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 1,236 shares in the last quarter. SYSTM Wealth Solutions LLC boosted its holdings in shares of SLM by 37.0% in the first quarter. SYSTM Wealth Solutions LLC now owns 1,828 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $40,000 after acquiring an additional 494 shares in the last quarter. Neo Ivy Capital Management acquired a new position in shares of SLM during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $40,000. 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. Finally, Quarry LP lifted its position in SLM by 78.6% in the fourth 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 owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

SLM has been the topic of a number of research reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on SLM from $25.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of SLM from $23.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, July 25th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on shares of SLM from $25.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, July 25th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on SLM from $24.00 to $27.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. Finally, Wedbush increased their price objective on SLM from $25.00 to $29.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, SLM currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $24.00.

SLM Stock Down 0.0 %

NASDAQ:SLM opened at $22.07 on Monday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $21.59 and its 200 day moving average price is $21.24. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.90, a PEG 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 Co. has a 1-year low of $12.26 and a 1-year high of $23.95.

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

SLM Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 16th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, September 5th were paid a dividend of $0.11 per share. This represents a $0.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.99%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, September 5th. SLM’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 13.75%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Robert S. Strong sold 4,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $22.70, for a total transaction of $102,150.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 101,093 shares in the company, valued at $2,294,811.10. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 1.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.