Discovery Capital Management LLC CT Purchases New Shares in SLM Co. (NASDAQ:SLM)

Discovery Capital Management LLC CT acquired a new stake in SLM Co. (NASDAQ:SLM) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 209,400 shares of the credit services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $5,775,000.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in SLM by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,817,771 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $132,906,000 after acquiring an additional 55,443 shares during the period. Diametric Capital LP acquired a new stake in shares of SLM in the fourth quarter valued at about $380,000. National Bank of Canada FI increased its stake in shares of SLM by 248.5% during the fourth quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 232,847 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $6,422,000 after purchasing an additional 166,041 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its position in shares of SLM by 470.6% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,126,756 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $31,076,000 after purchasing an additional 929,292 shares during the last quarter. Finally, O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in SLM by 31.8% in the 4th quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 18,668 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $515,000 after buying an additional 4,501 shares in the last quarter. 98.94% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

SLM Stock Performance

SLM stock opened at $29.37 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $29.62 and a 200-day simple moving average of $26.55. The stock has a market cap of $6.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 1.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.37, a current ratio of 1.32 and a quick ratio of 1.27. SLM Co. has a 1-year low of $19.39 and a 1-year high of $32.65.

SLM (NASDAQ:SLM) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 31.66% and a net margin of 20.73%. On average, analysts expect that SLM Co. will post 3.07 EPS for the current year.

SLM Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 5th were issued a $0.13 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 5th. This represents a $0.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.77%. SLM’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 19.62%.

Insider Buying and Selling at SLM

In related news, Director Robert S. Strong sold 40,000 shares of SLM stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $28.57, for a total value of $1,142,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 43,163 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,233,166.91. This trade represents a 48.10 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 1.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have commented on SLM shares. Compass Point boosted 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. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on SLM from $32.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on SLM from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Barclays upped their target price on shares of SLM from $34.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of SLM from $32.00 to $33.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, SLM presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $31.45.

About SLM

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.