SLM Co. (NASDAQ:SLM) Shares Sold by Wedge Capital Management L L P NC

Wedge Capital Management L L P NC cut its holdings in shares of SLM Co. (NASDAQ:SLM) by 30.7% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 137,244 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 60,729 shares during the quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC’s holdings in SLM were worth $2,624,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Sapient Capital LLC purchased a new position in SLM during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,785,000. Quantbot Technologies LP purchased a new position in shares of SLM during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $713,000. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale increased its holdings in shares of SLM by 25.5% during the 3rd quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 155,595 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $2,092,000 after purchasing an additional 31,595 shares in the last quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund increased its holdings in shares of SLM by 31.2% during the 3rd quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 684,103 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $9,317,000 after purchasing an additional 162,853 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Caxton Associates LP purchased a new position in shares of SLM during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $896,000. 98.94% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Donna F. Vieira sold 12,308 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.27, for a total transaction of $249,483.16. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 126,500 shares in the company, valued at $2,564,155. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, EVP Donna F. Vieira sold 12,308 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.27, for a total value of $249,483.16. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 126,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,564,155. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Jonathan Boyles sold 94,078 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.72, for a total value of $1,949,296.16. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 52,751 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,093,000.72. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.91% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on SLM shares. Citigroup raised shares of SLM from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $14.00 to $23.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of SLM from $20.00 to $22.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of SLM from $22.00 to $24.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 18th. TheStreet raised shares of SLM from a “c+” rating to a “b” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 24th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft initiated coverage on shares of SLM in a report on Wednesday, January 10th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $25.00 price target for the company. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $20.32.

SLM Trading Up 0.8 %

Shares of SLM stock opened at $22.10 on Thursday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $20.87 and its 200-day moving average price is $18.14. The company has a current ratio of 1.22, a quick ratio of 1.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.21. The stock has a market cap of $4.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.21, a PEG ratio of 0.44 and a beta of 1.16. SLM Co. has a twelve month low of $12.26 and a twelve month high of $22.20.

SLM (NASDAQ:SLM) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The credit services provider reported $1.27 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.98 by $0.29. SLM had a net margin of 20.65% and a return on equity of 36.86%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.47 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that SLM Co. will post 2.72 earnings per share for the current year.

SLM declared that its board has initiated a stock buyback program on Wednesday, January 24th that allows the company to repurchase $650.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the credit services provider to buy up to 14.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are usually a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

SLM Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 17th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, June 6th will be paid a dividend of $0.11 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, June 6th. This represents a $0.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.99%. SLM’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 18.33%.

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.