Swiss National Bank Has $10.62 Million Stake in SLM Co. (NASDAQ:SLM)

Swiss National Bank decreased its holdings in SLM Co. (NASDAQ:SLM) by 0.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 384,888 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 1,100 shares during the period. Swiss National Bank’s holdings in SLM were worth $10,615,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in SLM in the fourth quarter worth approximately $20,603,000. 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 buying an additional 331,490 shares during the last quarter. Perpetual Ltd acquired a new position in SLM in the fourth quarter worth approximately $6,488,000. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its holdings in SLM by 314.7% in the fourth quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 212,531 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $5,813,000 after buying an additional 161,283 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Edgestream Partners L.P. acquired a new position in SLM in the third quarter worth approximately $3,250,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.94% of the company’s stock.

SLM Stock Down 0.8 %

SLM opened at $29.87 on Friday. SLM Co. has a 1-year low of $19.39 and a 1-year high of $32.65. The company has a current ratio of 1.32, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.37. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.27, a P/E/G ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 1.23. The business has a 50 day moving average of $29.34 and a 200-day moving average of $26.04.

SLM (NASDAQ:SLM) last posted 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 net margin of 20.73% and a return on equity of 31.66%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that SLM Co. will post 3.07 earnings per share for the current year.

SLM Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 5th were paid a $0.13 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 5th. This represents a $0.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.74%. SLM’s payout ratio is 19.62%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

SLM has been the topic of a number of research reports. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on SLM from $32.00 to $33.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on SLM from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Compass Point upped their target price on SLM from $31.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Barclays upped their target price on SLM from $34.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their target price on SLM from $32.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $31.45.

Insider Activity at SLM

In related news, Director Robert S. Strong sold 40,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $28.57, for a total value of $1,142,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 43,163 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,233,166.91. This represents a 48.10 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 1.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.