11,726 Shares in SLM Co. (NASDAQ:SLM) Bought by Quantbot Technologies LP

Quantbot Technologies LP acquired a new position in SLM Co. (NASDAQ:SLM) during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 11,726 shares of the credit services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $268,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in SLM. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its position in SLM by 3,800.6% during the third quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 2,406,384 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $55,034,000 after purchasing an additional 2,344,691 shares in the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC raised its position in SLM by 107.1% during the second quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 2,366,642 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $49,202,000 after purchasing an additional 1,224,015 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its position in SLM by 253.8% during the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,290,997 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $26,840,000 after purchasing an additional 926,120 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. raised its position in SLM by 23.9% during the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 4,453,521 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $92,589,000 after purchasing an additional 859,625 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Los Angeles Capital Management LLC raised its position in SLM by 69.1% during the second quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 1,002,825 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $20,849,000 after purchasing an additional 409,624 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other 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 4,500 shares of SLM stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $27.25, for a total transaction of $122,625.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 83,130 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,265,292.50. The trade was a 5.14 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 1.20% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

SLM has been the topic of a number of research reports. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $26.00 price target on shares of SLM in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $26.00 price objective on shares of SLM in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Bank of America initiated coverage on SLM in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. They set a “buy” rating and a $27.00 price objective on the stock. Barclays reduced their price objective on SLM from $27.00 to $26.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on SLM from $25.00 to $24.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, October 7th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, SLM currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $25.45.

SLM Stock Up 1.3 %

NASDAQ SLM opened at $26.84 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.21, a current ratio of 1.29 and a quick ratio of 1.27. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.70 billion, a PE ratio of 9.35, a PEG ratio of 1.13 and a beta of 1.21. SLM Co. has a 1 year low of $15.64 and a 1 year high of $28.22. The business’s 50-day moving average is $23.65 and its 200 day moving average is $22.09.

SLM (NASDAQ:SLM) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The credit services provider reported ($0.23) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.07 by ($0.30). The firm had revenue of $652.64 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $363.40 million. SLM had a net margin of 22.18% and a return on equity of 35.92%. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.11 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that SLM Co. will post 2.73 earnings per share for the current year.

SLM Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, December 5th will be given a dividend of $0.13 per share. This represents a $0.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.94%. This is a boost from SLM’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.11. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, December 5th. SLM’s payout ratio is presently 18.12%.

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.