Signaturefd LLC Increases Stock Holdings in SLM Co. (NASDAQ:SLM)

Signaturefd LLC increased its holdings in shares of SLM Co. (NASDAQ:SLM) by 7.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 7,891 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after buying an additional 565 shares during the quarter. Signaturefd LLC’s holdings in SLM were worth $151,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. CWM LLC grew its stake in SLM by 51.9% during the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 5,632 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $77,000 after purchasing an additional 1,925 shares during the last quarter. Oak Thistle LLC grew its stake in SLM by 54.5% during the 3rd quarter. Oak Thistle LLC now owns 33,187 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $452,000 after purchasing an additional 11,706 shares during the last quarter. Arnhold LLC grew its stake in SLM by 5.7% during the 3rd quarter. Arnhold LLC now owns 1,662,736 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $22,646,000 after purchasing an additional 89,315 shares during the last quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp purchased a new stake in SLM during the 3rd quarter valued at about $310,000. Finally, Strs Ohio grew its stake in SLM by 21.6% during the 3rd quarter. Strs Ohio now owns 73,075 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $995,000 after purchasing an additional 12,988 shares during the last quarter. 98.94% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

SLM Stock Performance

Shares of SLM stock opened at $21.90 on Monday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $20.94 and its two-hundred day moving average is $18.30. The firm has a market cap of $4.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.84, a PEG ratio of 0.45 and a beta of 1.16. SLM Co. has a 1 year low of $12.26 and a 1 year high of $22.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.67, a quick ratio of 1.23 and a current ratio of 1.23.

SLM (NASDAQ:SLM) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 24th. The credit services provider reported $1.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.09 by $0.18. The company had revenue of $837.72 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $376.43 million. SLM had a return on equity of 45.65% and a net margin of 25.15%. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.47 earnings per share. Analysts predict that SLM Co. will post 2.7 earnings per share for the current year.

SLM announced that its board has initiated a share buyback plan on Wednesday, January 24th that authorizes the company to buyback $650.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the credit services provider to repurchase up to 14.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

SLM Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 17th. Investors of record on Thursday, June 6th will be issued a dividend of $0.11 per share. This represents a $0.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.01%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, June 5th. SLM’s dividend payout ratio is currently 13.75%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SLM has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Wedbush boosted their price target on SLM from $26.00 to $28.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on SLM from $22.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on SLM from $22.00 to $24.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 18th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on SLM from $24.00 to $25.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Citigroup upgraded SLM from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the company from $14.00 to $23.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 16th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, SLM currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $21.32.

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.