Cerity Partners LLC Boosts Stake in SLM Co. (NASDAQ:SLM)

Cerity Partners LLC grew its stake in SLM Co. (NASDAQ:SLM) by 20.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 68,123 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 11,357 shares during the quarter. Cerity Partners LLC’s holdings in SLM were worth $1,850,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. HighTower Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of SLM by 136.9% in the 3rd quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 38,618 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $884,000 after purchasing an additional 22,315 shares in the last quarter. Barclays PLC lifted its stake in shares of SLM by 77.8% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 273,785 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $6,261,000 after buying an additional 119,796 shares during the period. M&T Bank Corp purchased a new stake in shares of SLM during the third quarter valued at $200,000. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position 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 valued at $108,936,000 after acquiring an additional 331,490 shares during the period. Finally, Sanctuary Advisors LLC purchased a new position in SLM in the 3rd quarter worth $655,000. 98.94% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

SLM Price Performance

SLM stock opened at $26.28 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.27, a current ratio of 1.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.37. The stock has a market cap of $5.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 1.05. The business has a fifty day moving average of $28.95 and a two-hundred day moving average of $26.91. SLM Co. has a 52-week low of $19.39 and a 52-week high of $32.65.

SLM (NASDAQ:SLM) last released its quarterly 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 return on equity of 31.66% and a net margin of 20.73%. As a group, research analysts anticipate that SLM Co. will post 3.07 earnings per share for the current year.

SLM Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 5th were given a dividend of $0.13 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 5th. This represents a $0.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.98%. SLM’s dividend payout ratio is presently 19.62%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

SLM has been the topic of several recent research reports. Compass Point upped their price objective on shares of SLM from $31.00 to $34.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on SLM from $32.00 to $38.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, March 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on SLM from $30.00 to $27.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of SLM from $34.00 to $38.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on SLM from $32.00 to $33.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $31.18.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Robert S. Strong sold 40,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 28th. The stock was 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,233,166.91. This trade represents a 48.10 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 1.20% of the company’s stock.

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.