Rhumbline Advisers Trims Stock Position in SLM Co. (NASDAQ:SLM)

Rhumbline Advisers reduced its stake in SLM Co. (NASDAQ:SLM) by 5.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 590,955 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 31,862 shares during the quarter. Rhumbline Advisers owned 0.28% of SLM worth $16,298,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Waldron Private Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of SLM during the third quarter worth about $31,000. True Wealth Design LLC acquired a new position in SLM during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $31,000. Blue Trust Inc. raised its stake in shares of SLM by 358.7% during the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,399 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 1,094 shares in the last quarter. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new stake in shares of SLM in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new stake in shares of SLM in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $86,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.94% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at SLM

In related news, Director Robert S. Strong sold 40,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $28.57, for a total transaction of $1,142,800.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 43,163 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,233,166.91. This trade represents a 48.10 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 1.20% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have issued reports on SLM shares. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on SLM from $26.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of SLM from $29.00 to $30.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of SLM from $34.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of SLM from $32.00 to $33.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on SLM from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, SLM currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $30.91.

SLM Trading Down 4.2 %

Shares of SLM stock opened at $30.68 on Friday. SLM Co. has a 1 year low of $19.39 and a 1 year 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 business has a 50 day moving average price of $28.68 and a 200 day moving average price of $24.92. The company has a market capitalization of $6.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.58, a P/E/G ratio of 0.87 and a beta of 1.22.

SLM (NASDAQ:SLM) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The credit services provider reported $0.50 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.56 by ($0.06). SLM had a return on equity of 31.66% and a net margin of 20.73%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that SLM Co. will post 3.07 EPS for the current fiscal year.

SLM Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 5th will be paid a dividend of $0.13 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 5th. This represents a $0.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.69%. SLM’s dividend payout ratio is currently 19.62%.

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.