SLM Co. (NASDAQ:SLM) Shares Sold by Wellington Management Group LLP

Wellington Management Group LLP decreased its position in SLM Co. (NASDAQ:SLM) by 22.8% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 197,464 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 58,442 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP owned about 0.09% of SLM worth $4,516,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Quest Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of SLM during the 3rd quarter worth $623,000. State Street Corp raised its stake in SLM by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 6,923,576 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $158,342,000 after purchasing an additional 43,927 shares during the last quarter. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp raised its position in shares of SLM by 50.7% in 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 buying an additional 97,832 shares during the last quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P. acquired a new position in SLM in the 3rd quarter valued at $3,250,000. Finally, Advantage Alpha Capital Partners LP lifted its position in SLM by 62.9% during the third quarter. Advantage Alpha Capital Partners LP now owns 177,840 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $4,067,000 after buying an additional 68,642 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.94% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. Barclays cut their price target on shares of SLM from $27.00 to $26.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of SLM from $24.00 to $27.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $26.00 target price on shares of SLM in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $26.00 price target on shares of SLM in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, Bank of America initiated coverage on SLM in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. They set a “buy” rating and a $27.00 target price on the stock. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $26.80.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Robert S. Strong sold 4,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.25, for a total value of $122,625.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 83,130 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,265,292.50. This trade represents a 5.14 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 1.20% of the company’s stock.

SLM Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ SLM opened at $27.75 on Tuesday. SLM Co. has a 12-month low of $18.04 and a 12-month high of $28.22. The company has a market cap of $5.89 billion, a PE ratio of 9.67, a P/E/G ratio of 0.85 and a beta of 1.21. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $24.44 and a 200-day simple moving average of $22.47. The company has a current ratio of 1.29, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.21.

SLM (NASDAQ:SLM) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The credit services provider reported ($0.23) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.07 by ($0.30). The company had revenue of $652.64 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $363.40 million. SLM had a net margin of 22.18% and a return on equity of 35.92%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.11 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that SLM Co. will post 2.73 EPS for the current year.

SLM Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 16th. Investors of record on Thursday, December 5th were issued a $0.13 dividend. This is an increase from SLM’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.11. This represents a $0.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.87%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, December 5th. SLM’s payout ratio is presently 18.12%.

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.