78,559 Shares in SLM Co. (NASDAQ:SLM) Acquired by Tidal Investments LLC

Tidal Investments LLC acquired a new position in SLM Co. (NASDAQ:SLM) during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 78,559 shares of the credit services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,797,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. State Street Corp lifted its stake in shares of SLM by 0.6% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 6,923,576 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $158,342,000 after acquiring an additional 43,927 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in SLM by 2.1% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 5,687,920 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $118,248,000 after purchasing an additional 119,342 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in SLM by 7.5% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,762,328 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $108,936,000 after purchasing an additional 331,490 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. increased its holdings in SLM by 23.9% in the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 4,453,521 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $92,589,000 after purchasing an additional 859,625 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its holdings in SLM by 3,800.6% in the third quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 2,406,384 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $55,034,000 after purchasing an additional 2,344,691 shares in the last quarter. 98.94% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

SLM Stock Down 0.3 %

Shares of NASDAQ:SLM opened at $27.68 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $5.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.64, a PEG ratio of 0.85 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a quick ratio of 1.27, a current ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.21. SLM Co. has a 12-month low of $18.04 and a 12-month high of $28.22. The business’s 50 day moving average is $24.53 and its 200 day moving average is $22.51.

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). SLM had a return on equity of 35.92% and a net margin of 22.18%. The business had revenue of $652.64 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $363.40 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.11 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that SLM Co. will post 2.73 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

SLM Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 16th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, December 5th were given a $0.13 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, December 5th. This represents a $0.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.88%. This is a boost from SLM’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.11. SLM’s payout ratio is currently 18.12%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other SLM news, Director Robert S. Strong sold 4,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $27.25, for a total value of $122,625.00. Following the transaction, the director now 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 1.20% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have weighed in on SLM. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on SLM from $24.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. Wedbush reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $26.00 target price on shares of SLM in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Bank of America began coverage on SLM in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $27.00 target price for the company. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $26.00 target price on shares of SLM in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods restated a “market perform” rating and set a $30.00 price objective (up previously from $27.00) on shares of SLM in a report on Monday, December 9th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, SLM presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $26.80.

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.