Diametric Capital LP Invests $380,000 in SLM Co. (NASDAQ:SLM)

Diametric Capital LP bought a new stake in SLM Co. (NASDAQ:SLM) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 13,763 shares of the credit services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $380,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in SLM. Private Trust Co. NA grew its stake in shares of SLM by 86.4% in the fourth quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 971 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 450 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. grew its position in SLM by 32.2% in the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,849 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $51,000 after acquiring an additional 450 shares in the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new stake in SLM during the fourth quarter worth about $86,000. Plato Investment Management Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of SLM during the fourth quarter worth about $114,000. Finally, Jones Financial Companies Lllp boosted its stake in shares of SLM by 489.7% in the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 4,476 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $123,000 after purchasing an additional 3,717 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.94% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

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 transaction, the director now directly owns 43,163 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,233,166.91. This trade represents a 48.10 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 1.20% of the company’s stock.

SLM Price Performance

SLM stock opened at $29.62 on Wednesday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $29.64 and a 200 day moving average price of $26.61. The company has a quick ratio of 1.27, a current ratio of 1.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.37. The stock has a market cap of $6.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.18, a PEG ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 1.23. SLM Co. has a fifty-two week low of $19.39 and a fifty-two week 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%. Equities research analysts anticipate that SLM Co. will post 3.07 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

SLM Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 5th were given a dividend of $0.13 per share. This represents a $0.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.76%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 5th. SLM’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 19.62%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently weighed in on SLM. Barclays upped their target price on shares of SLM from $34.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on SLM from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Compass Point lifted their target price on SLM from $31.00 to $34.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on SLM from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on SLM from $29.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, SLM has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $31.45.

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.