SLM Co. (NASDAQ:SLM) Shares Sold by AQR Capital Management LLC

AQR Capital Management LLC lowered its position in shares of SLM Co. (NASDAQ:SLM) by 19.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,545,729 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 371,016 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC’s holdings in SLM were worth $42,631,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in SLM. Private Trust Co. NA increased its position in 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 during the period. Blue Trust Inc. increased its holdings in shares of 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 during the period. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new position in shares of SLM in the 4th quarter valued at $86,000. Plato Investment Management Ltd purchased a new stake in SLM in the 4th quarter valued at $114,000. Finally, Jones Financial Companies Lllp boosted its stake in 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 period. 98.94% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

SLM Stock Up 4.0 %

Shares of NASDAQ SLM opened at $31.19 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 1.05. SLM Co. has a 52 week low of $19.39 and a 52 week high of $32.65. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $28.30 and a 200 day moving average price of $27.35. The company has a quick ratio of 1.27, a current ratio of 1.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.37.

SLM (NASDAQ:SLM) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The credit services provider reported $1.40 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.19 by $0.21. The business had revenue of $374.97 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $359.83 million. SLM had a return on equity of 31.66% and a net margin of 20.73%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.27 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that SLM Co. will post 3.07 EPS for the current fiscal year.

SLM Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 16th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, June 5th will be issued a $0.13 dividend. This represents a $0.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.67%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, June 5th. SLM’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 18.71%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

SLM has been the subject of a number of research reports. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $33.00 target price (up from $31.00) on shares of SLM in a report on Friday, April 25th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on SLM from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on SLM from $30.00 to $27.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on SLM from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of SLM from $34.00 to $38.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, SLM presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $30.73.

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.