Headlands Technologies LLC Grows Stock Holdings in SLM Co. (NASDAQ:SLM)

Headlands Technologies LLC grew its position in shares of SLM Co. (NASDAQ:SLM) by 27.0% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 10,574 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,245 shares during the period. Headlands Technologies LLC’s holdings in SLM were worth $220,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. LGT Fund Management Co Ltd. purchased a new stake in SLM in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $208,000. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp raised its holdings in shares of SLM by 50.7% during the second quarter. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp now owns 290,636 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $6,042,000 after acquiring an additional 97,832 shares in the last quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in SLM by 69.1% in the second quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 1,002,825 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $20,849,000 after acquiring an additional 409,624 shares during the period. Savant Capital LLC boosted its holdings in SLM by 16.1% in the second quarter. Savant Capital LLC now owns 123,875 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $2,575,000 after acquiring an additional 17,188 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its position in SLM by 62.8% during the 2nd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 112,871 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $2,347,000 after purchasing an additional 43,542 shares during the period. 98.94% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

SLM Stock Performance

Shares of SLM stock opened at $21.23 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.66, a quick ratio of 1.26 and a current ratio of 1.26. The company has a market capitalization of $4.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.39 and a beta of 1.15. SLM Co. has a one year low of $12.26 and a one year high of $23.95. The company’s 50-day moving average is $21.53 and its 200 day moving average is $21.20.

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

SLM Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 16th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, September 5th will be issued a dividend of $0.11 per share. This represents a $0.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.07%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, September 5th. SLM’s payout ratio is currently 13.75%.

Insider Activity at SLM

In other news, Director Robert S. Strong sold 4,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $22.70, for a total transaction of $102,150.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 101,093 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,294,811.10. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 1.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently commented on SLM. Wedbush raised their target price on shares of SLM from $25.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on SLM from $25.00 to $27.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. TD Cowen increased their target price on SLM from $25.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 4th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on SLM from $25.00 to $27.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on SLM from $24.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $24.00.

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.