Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Trims Holdings in SLM Co. (NASDAQ:SLM)

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. cut its holdings in SLM Co. (NASDAQ:SLM) by 69.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 879,248 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 2,044,243 shares during the quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. owned approximately 0.39% of SLM worth $16,811,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Bessemer Group Inc. boosted its stake in SLM by 219.7% in the 2nd quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 2,206 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 1,516 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC bought a new position in SLM in the 3rd quarter worth about $39,000. Industrial Alliance Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in SLM by 257.3% in the 4th quarter. Industrial Alliance Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,805 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $47,000 after purchasing an additional 2,020 shares in the last quarter. CWM LLC boosted its stake in SLM by 51.9% in the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 5,632 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $77,000 after purchasing an additional 1,925 shares in the last quarter. Finally, US Bancorp DE boosted its stake in SLM by 112.6% in the 2nd quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 6,038 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $99,000 after purchasing an additional 3,198 shares in the last quarter. 98.94% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

SLM Trading Up 2.2 %

SLM stock opened at $21.60 on Thursday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $20.20 and a 200 day moving average of $17.10. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.00, a P/E/G ratio of 0.44 and a beta of 1.16. SLM Co. has a 12-month low of $11.35 and a 12-month high of $21.74. The company has a current ratio of 1.22, a quick ratio of 1.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.21.

SLM (NASDAQ:SLM) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, January 30th. The credit services provider reported $0.72 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.87 by ($0.15). The firm had revenue of $725.66 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $379.20 million. SLM had a return on equity of 36.86% and a net margin of 20.65%. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted ($0.33) earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that SLM Co. will post 2.66 earnings per share for the current year.

SLM Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Investors of record on Monday, March 4th were issued a $0.11 dividend. This represents a $0.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.04%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 1st. SLM’s dividend payout ratio is 18.33%.

SLM declared that its board has approved a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, January 24th that permits the company to buyback $650.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization permits the credit services provider to purchase up to 14.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are often a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of SLM from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their target price for the company from $14.00 to $20.00 in a research note on Friday, December 8th. Stephens upped their target price on shares of SLM from $16.00 to $18.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 13th. Wedbush upped their target price on shares of SLM from $18.00 to $21.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 13th. Citigroup upgraded shares of SLM from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the company from $14.00 to $23.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 16th. Finally, TheStreet upgraded shares of SLM from a “c+” rating to a “b” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 24th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, SLM has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $19.77.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other SLM news, 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 transaction 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 approximately $1,093,000.72. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other SLM news, 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 transaction 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 approximately $1,093,000.72. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Donna F. Vieira sold 12,308 shares of the 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $2,564,155. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.91% of the stock is currently owned by 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.