Pinebridge Investments L.P. Boosts Holdings in SLM Co. (NASDAQ:SLM)

Pinebridge Investments L.P. lifted its stake in shares of SLM Co. (NASDAQ:SLM) by 42.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 78,895 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 23,603 shares during the period. Pinebridge Investments L.P.’s holdings in SLM were worth $2,176,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Private Trust Co. NA grew its holdings in shares of SLM by 86.4% during the fourth quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 971 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 450 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. grew its stake in SLM by 32.2% during 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 acquired a new stake in SLM in the 4th quarter valued at about $86,000. Plato Investment Management Ltd purchased a new position in SLM in the 4th quarter worth approximately $114,000. Finally, Jones Financial Companies Lllp boosted its holdings in shares of SLM by 489.7% during the 4th quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 4,476 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $123,000 after purchasing an additional 3,717 shares during the last quarter. 98.94% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at SLM

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently commented on SLM. Compass Point increased their price target 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 lifted their price target on SLM from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of SLM from $34.00 to $38.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on shares of SLM from $30.00 to $27.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $33.00 target price (up from $31.00) on shares of SLM in a report on Friday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $30.73.

SLM Stock Down 1.4 %

SLM stock opened at $27.75 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.37, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a current ratio of 1.32. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $28.48 and a 200 day moving average price of $27.19. SLM Co. has a fifty-two week low of $19.39 and a fifty-two week high of $32.65. The company has a market capitalization of $5.84 billion, a PE ratio of 10.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 1.05.

SLM (NASDAQ:SLM) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 24th. The credit services provider reported $1.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.19 by $0.21. SLM had a return on equity of 31.66% and a net margin of 20.73%. The firm had revenue of $374.97 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $359.83 million. Research analysts expect that SLM Co. will post 3.07 earnings per share for the current year.

SLM Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 16th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, June 5th will be paid a $0.13 dividend. This represents a $0.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.87%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, June 5th. SLM’s payout ratio is 19.62%.

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.