Bridgewater Associates LP Boosts Stake in SLM Co. (NASDAQ:SLM)

Bridgewater Associates LP raised its position in SLM Co. (NASDAQ:SLM) by 15.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 429,251 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 58,524 shares during the quarter. Bridgewater Associates LP owned 0.20% of SLM worth $11,839,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Private Trust Co. NA lifted its stake 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 purchasing an additional 450 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. raised its holdings in shares of 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 buying an additional 450 shares during the period. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new position in SLM during the 4th quarter worth approximately $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 grew its position in 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 acquiring an additional 3,717 shares in the last quarter. 98.94% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on SLM. Compass Point upped their target price on shares of SLM from $31.00 to $34.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on SLM from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on SLM from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on SLM from $30.00 to $27.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their target price on SLM from $32.00 to $38.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $31.18.

SLM Price Performance

Shares of SLM opened at $26.28 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.37, a current ratio of 1.32 and a quick ratio of 1.27. The company has a market cap of $5.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.92, a PEG ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 1.05. SLM Co. has a 12 month low of $19.39 and a 12 month high of $32.65. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $28.95 and a 200 day moving average price of $26.91.

SLM (NASDAQ:SLM) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 23rd. The credit services provider reported $0.50 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.56 by ($0.06). SLM had a return on equity of 31.66% and a net margin of 20.73%. On average, research analysts forecast that SLM Co. will post 3.07 earnings per share for the current year.

SLM Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 5th were given a $0.13 dividend. This represents a $0.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.98%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 5th. SLM’s dividend payout ratio is currently 19.62%.

Insider Buying and Selling at SLM

In other SLM news, Director Robert S. Strong sold 40,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the director now directly owns 43,163 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,233,166.91. The trade was a 48.10 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 1.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.