Wellington Management Group LLP Has $31.08 Million Holdings in SLM Co. (NASDAQ:SLM)

Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its holdings in shares of SLM Co. (NASDAQ:SLM) by 470.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,126,756 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 929,292 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP owned 0.53% of SLM worth $31,076,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Private Trust Co. NA grew its holdings in shares of SLM by 86.4% during the fourth quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 971 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 450 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. grew its holdings in SLM by 32.2% during the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,849 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $51,000 after acquiring an additional 450 shares during the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new stake in SLM in the 4th quarter valued at about $86,000. Plato Investment Management Ltd bought a new position in shares of SLM in the fourth quarter worth about $114,000. Finally, Jones Financial Companies Lllp lifted its position in shares of SLM by 489.7% during the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 4,476 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $123,000 after purchasing an additional 3,717 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 98.94% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at SLM

In other SLM news, Director Robert S. Strong sold 40,000 shares of SLM stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $28.57, for a total value of $1,142,800.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 43,163 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,233,166.91. The trade was a 48.10 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 1.20% of the company’s stock.

SLM Stock Performance

Shares of SLM stock opened at $25.54 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $5.37 billion, a PE ratio of 9.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 1.05. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $29.56 and a 200-day moving average of $26.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.37, a current ratio of 1.32 and a quick ratio of 1.27. SLM Co. has a one year low of $19.39 and a one year high of $32.65.

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

SLM Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 5th were issued a dividend of $0.13 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 5th. This represents a $0.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.04%. SLM’s dividend payout ratio is presently 19.62%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently weighed in on SLM shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on shares of SLM from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Barclays boosted their target price on SLM from $34.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on SLM from $32.00 to $38.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, March 10th. Compass Point boosted their price objective on SLM from $31.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of SLM from $32.00 to $33.00 and gave the company an “overweight” 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. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $31.45.

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.