5,092,179 Shares in SLM Co. (NASDAQ:SLM) Bought by Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC

Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC bought a new stake in SLM Co. (NASDAQ:SLM) during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor bought 5,092,179 shares of the credit services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $140,442,000.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of SLM. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of SLM in the 4th quarter valued at $68,603,000. Pertento Partners LLP acquired a new stake in shares of SLM in the fourth quarter worth about $48,451,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of SLM during the 4th quarter worth about $20,603,000. Boston Partners increased its holdings in shares of SLM by 3.9% during the 4th quarter. Boston Partners now owns 12,246,797 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $338,889,000 after acquiring an additional 456,415 shares during the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. raised its stake in shares of SLM by 7.0% in the 4th quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 5,175,645 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $142,744,000 after acquiring an additional 338,128 shares in the last quarter. 98.94% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

SLM Stock Down 2.8 %

Shares of SLM stock opened at $28.90 on Friday. SLM Co. has a one year low of $19.39 and a one year high of $32.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.37, a current ratio of 1.32 and a quick ratio of 1.27. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $29.59 and a 200 day moving average price of $26.45. The stock has a market cap of $6.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 1.23.

SLM (NASDAQ:SLM) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The credit services provider reported $0.50 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.56 by ($0.06). SLM had a net margin of 20.73% and a return on equity of 31.66%. Analysts predict that SLM Co. will post 3.07 earnings per share for the current year.

SLM Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 5th were issued a $0.13 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 5th. This represents a $0.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.80%. SLM’s payout ratio is presently 19.62%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Robert S. Strong sold 40,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 28th. The shares were 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 owns 43,163 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,233,166.91. This trade represents a 48.10 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 1.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

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.