SLM Co. (NASDAQ:SLM) Shares Purchased by Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC

Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its holdings in SLM Co. (NASDAQ:SLM – Get Rating) by 605.9% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 111,577 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 95,771 shares during the quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC’s holdings in SLM were worth $1,560,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its stake in SLM by 9.8% during the second quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 20,007,968 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $318,927,000 after acquiring an additional 1,785,938 shares during the last quarter. Capital World Investors boosted its holdings in SLM by 53.0% in the first quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 4,530,000 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $83,171,000 after purchasing an additional 1,570,000 shares during the last quarter. Bridgewater Associates LP bought a new position in SLM during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $9,182,000. FMR LLC lifted its holdings in SLM by 12.2% during the 2nd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 5,175,823 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $82,503,000 after buying an additional 564,507 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Millennium Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of SLM by 72.2% in the 2nd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 954,126 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $15,209,000 after purchasing an additional 400,048 shares during the last quarter. 96.65% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

SLM Price Performance

SLM opened at $16.58 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $4.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 5.40 and a beta of 1.18. SLM Co. has a 1 year low of $13.72 and a 1 year high of $20.75. The company has a current ratio of 1.23, a quick ratio of 1.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.19. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $16.76 and a 200 day moving average price of $16.02.

SLM (NASDAQ:SLM – Get Rating) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 26th. The credit services provider reported $0.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.47 by ($0.18). The firm had revenue of $369.51 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $347.69 million. SLM had a net margin of 35.01% and a return on equity of 47.71%. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.24 EPS. Analysts forecast that SLM Co. will post 2.5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

SLM Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 2nd were issued a dividend of $0.11 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, December 1st. This represents a $0.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.65%. SLM’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 14.33%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Stephens lifted their price target on SLM from $16.00 to $18.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, October 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on SLM from $17.00 to $18.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 10th. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their target price on SLM from $24.00 to $20.00 in a report on Tuesday, October 18th. Compass Point cut SLM from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $20.00 to $18.00 in a report on Thursday, November 10th. Finally, Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $17.00 target price on shares of SLM in a report on Wednesday, September 28th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $18.80.

About SLM

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SLM Corp. engages in the provision and administration of education loans. Its services include private education loans, banking, college savings, and insurance services. The company was founded in 1972 and is headquartered in Newark, DE.