Wealthfront Advisers LLC Acquires Shares of 19,428 SLM Co. (NASDAQ:SLM)

Wealthfront Advisers LLC purchased a new position in SLM Co. (NASDAQ:SLM) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 19,428 shares of the credit services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $536,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in SLM. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank grew its stake in shares of SLM by 12.5% in the fourth quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 50,489 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $1,392,000 after acquiring an additional 5,596 shares during the last quarter. AlphaQuest LLC lifted its holdings in shares of SLM by 32.6% during the fourth quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 36,101 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $996,000 after acquiring an additional 8,879 shares during the period. Amundi lifted its holdings in shares of SLM by 103.4% during the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 135,014 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $3,712,000 after acquiring an additional 68,632 shares during the period. Callan Family Office LLC bought a new position in shares of SLM in the fourth quarter valued at about $278,000. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in SLM in the fourth quarter worth about $20,603,000. Institutional investors own 98.94% of the company’s stock.

SLM Stock Performance

SLM opened at $29.26 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $6.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 1.23. SLM Co. has a 52-week low of $19.39 and a 52-week high of $32.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.37, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a current ratio of 1.32. The business’s fifty day moving average is $29.20 and its 200-day moving average is $25.88.

SLM (NASDAQ:SLM) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The credit services provider reported $0.50 earnings per share (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%. Sell-side analysts expect that SLM Co. will post 3.07 EPS for the current fiscal year.

SLM Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 5th will be given 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 1.78%. SLM’s dividend payout ratio is currently 19.62%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on SLM from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Compass Point boosted their target price on SLM from $31.00 to $34.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on SLM from $32.00 to $33.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on SLM from $29.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Barclays upped their price objective on SLM from $34.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $31.45.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Robert S. Strong sold 40,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 43,163 shares in the company, valued at $1,233,166.91. This represents a 48.10 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 1.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

SLM 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.